Hello, IronRuby 1.0!

Although it’s been out for the past couple of weeks and might be considered old news, I couldn’t let it pass unmentioned, especially given my history with the Ruby programming language: IronRuby 1.0 has been released!

IronRuby is an implementation of Ruby targeting the .NET Framework and built on Microsoft’s Dynamic Language Runtime, which in turn runs on top of the Common Language Runtime. Version 1.0 is compatible with Ruby 1.8.6; future releases will aim for compatibility with Ruby 1.9.

You can use IronRuby 1.0 to build these sorts of applications:

• Desktop applications using WPF
• Desktop, in-browser rich internet applications and Windows Phone applications using Silverlight
• Ruby on Rails applications (up to Rails version 2.3.5)
• Good ol’ command-line applications
• and of course, the REPL (Read-Evaluate-Print Loop) goodness of irb

As of version 1.0, IronRuby comes in two flavors:

• The one that runs on top of .NET 4.0. The .NET 4.0 framework is the latest version and was released with Visual Studio a couple of weeks ago (you can download it for free here). This is the preferred version, and features goodies such as:
  • Faster startup
  • Compatibility with C#’s dynamic keyword
  • Access to all the new features in the .NET 4.0 framework
• The one that runs on any earlier .NET, starting with 2.0 SP1. For compatibility with earlier versions of .NET as well as with Mono, you’ll want to use this version.

IronRuby is free in both senses of the word:

• Free as in beer. It costs nothing – just download it and use it!
• Free as in speech. It’s open source software, released under the Microsoft Permissive Licence, which is recognized by the Open Source Initiative.

You can download IronRuby 1.0 from the IronRuby site on Microsoft’s CodePlex site.

Ruby and IronRuby Reading

Programming Ruby, a.k.a. “The Pickaxe Book”, is on every serious Rubyist’s shelf. It’s both a good introduction to the language and a pretty decent reference.

why’s (poignant) guide to ruby isn’t a complete guide to Ruby, nor is it your typical programming book. It’s free, online, the most whimsical programming book you’ll ever read, and it’s been the driving force behind a lot of dynamism and creativity of the Ruby community.

The newly-released IronRuby Unleashed covers both the Ruby programming language, the IronRuby implementation and using IronRuby to mix Ruby and .NET into a Reese peanut butter cup of developer goodness.

Ruby Job Fair 2010

Last year, I attended and wrote about employment.nil?, the Ruby job fair held by Toronto software development shop Unspace. They’re doing it again this year with a different format. Where last year’s was modelled after a science fair (the kind you remember from high school), this year’s is going to be modelled after “speed dating” and will feature 5-minute chats between people looking for work and people looking to hire.

To reflect the new format and pay homage to the Ruby-style naming of the first event, they’re calling it require ‘date’. The job fair will take place in Toronto on Sunday, May 30th in the back room of the Rivoli (334 Queen Street West, just east of Spadina) from 2:00 p.m. to 4:00 p.m.. It will be followed from 4:00 p.m. to 9:00 p.m. with OMGRPNBBQ, a special barbecue party edition of Ruby Pub Nite held at Unspace’s office and rooftop deck (342 Queen Street West, a few doors over from the Rivoli).

• If you’re looking to hire people or looking for a job and want to attend, sign up here. There’s a small registration fee of $6.66.
• If you want to attend OMGRPNBBQ, sign up here.

This article also appears in Canadian Developer Connection.

White collar conservative flashin’ down the street
Pointin’ their plastic finger at me, ha!
They’re hopin’ soon my kind will drop and die but uh
I’m gonna wave my freak flag high, high!

– lyrics from If 6 Was 9 by Jimi Hendrix

Yeah, C# is pretty decent, but if you really want to hold the freak flag up high, the Dynamic Language Runtime and IronPython and IronRuby are where it’s at, baby!

A number of people have asked me how many sessions I attended at last week’s Microsoft Professional Developers Conference; my answer was “I only attended the keynotes”. Since every session was recorded on video (with a split screen showing both presenter and presentation) and made available online, I decided to focus on what you can’t replicate outside the conference: getting to know people in the Windows developer community.

It’s standard procedure at Microsoft to assign “buddies” to new hires to help them get acclimated. I have the very good fortune of having John Bristowe as one of my buddies; not only is he a warm and friendly guy, but I also already know him (his sister Ashley and I went to Crazy Go Nuts University together). John’s big on podcasting and was very generous in sharing the interviewer’s chair; he let me do a lot of interviews as a way to both get podcasting practice and introduce myself to people in the Windows world. Thanks, John!

You’re going to need Silverlight to view these videos. If you’re rolling your eyes at the prospect of having to download yet another plugin, keep in mind that Silverlight is a pretty cool tool for writing rich internet apps, I’ll be covering it rather extensively soon, and it’s catching on. Besides, you can’t see the videos without it!

Don Box on My Joining the Dark Side, Demos, Oslo and M, Zombies and How to Pronounce “Azure”

Click the picture to see the video of the interview.

After introducing myself to Distinguished Engineer (yup, that’s really his title) Don Box as “Microsoft’s Newest Employee”, I told him about my coming to Microsoft from the F/OSS world and asked him to please tell me that I hadn’t made a tragic mistake and ruined my life by coming over to the Dark Side. We also talked about his preparation process for his keynote demo, the Oslo platform and the M programming platform, the proper way to pronounce “Azure” and whether or not Microsoft is ready for the zombie apocalypse.

Useful Don Box/Oslo Links

• Video of my interview with Don Box.
• Video of Don Box’s and David Langworthy’s PDC 2008 presentation, Oslo: The Language, which introduces the M programming language.
• Video of Don Box’s and Florian Voss’ PDC 2008 presentation, “Oslo”: Customizing and Extending the Visual Design Experience.
• The Oslo site.
• If you’d like to read more about Oslo in Don’s own words, a good place to start is this entry in his blog.
• Don’s blog, Don Box’s Spoutlet.

Miguel de Icaza on Mono

Click the picture to see the video of the interview.

I had a great chat with Mono Project lead Miguel de Icaza about Mono, their answer to Silverlight, the number of people in the Mono Project and how you, as a Windows developer, can take Mono out for a spin. We also talked about how to pronounce “Azure”, and Miguel speculated that the name was a clever choice because the disagreement over its pronunciation is a great way to get people talking about it.

Useful Miguel de Icaza/Mono Links

• Video of my interview with Miguel de Icaza.
• Video of Miguel de Icaza’s PDC 2008 presentation, Mono and .NET.
• The Mono Project’s site.
• Miguel de Icaza’s blog.

John Lam on IronRuby

Click the picture to see the video of the interview.

It’s always good to catch up with Toronto-area guy turned Redmond guy and IronRuby creator John Lam. We had a quick chat about IronRuby and the current state of the project. In the interview, he reminds us that IronRuby is an open source project, talks about the Ruby standard implementation tests it’s currently passing and what to expect from IronRuby in the near future.

Useful John Lam/IronRuby Links

• Video of my interview with John Lam.
• Video of John Lam’s PDC 2008 presentation, IronRuby: The Right Language for the Right Job.
• The IronRuby site.
• Why’s (Poignant) Guide to Ruby — the most whimsical introduction to a programming language, ever!
• John Lam’s blog, John Lam on Software.

Phil Haack on ASP.NET MVC

Click the picture to see the video of the interview.

Phil Haack not only has the coolest surname for a techie, he’s also got an MVC framework for ASP.NET, just like the ones the Rails, Django and Cake people get to play with. In this interview, we talk about MVC web frameworks for the uninitiated, as well as get his take on how to pronounce “Azure”.

Useful Phil Haack/ASP.NET MVC Links

• Video of my interview with Phil Haack.
• Video of Phil Haack’s PDC 2008 presentation, ASP.NET MVC: A New Framework for Building Web Applications.
• The official ASP.NET MVC site.
• Phil Haack’s blog, You’ve Been HAACKED.

.NET Micro Framework

Click the picture to see the video of the interview.

Believe it or not, there’s a .NET framework for embedded devices, the .NET Micro Framework. In this interview, I learn about .NET programming for small devices, the “Dare to Dream Different” contest (where you can win great prizes for coming up with new applications for the .NET Micro Framework) and about what donuts have to do with microcontrollers. Mmm…donuts!

Useful .NET Micro Framework Links

• Video of my .NET Micro Framework interview.
• The “Dare to Dream Different” contest site.
• The .NET Micro Framework site.

I’m meeting up with a lot of interesting new people and catching up with old friends and collegaues here at the Microsoft Professional Developers Conference (PDC) 2008 in the Los Angeles Convention Center. Among the people I ran into was John Lam of the IronRuby project. This was the prefect opportunity for me to conduct my first podcast interview as a Microsoft Developer Evangelist. I asked John to explain IronRuby to people who’d never heard of it and to give us a quick summary of the current state of the project.

My thanks to John Bristowe for suggesting that I conduct the interview and for doing the camera and post-production work!