Re: [tlug] About to break down and get an iPhone

["Stephen J. Turnbull" <stephen@example.com>]

Shawn Brown writes:
 > >    Unfortunately, since Android is
 > > based on compiling Java to a non-Java VM, basically it's going to
 > > present a build-and-upload interface, with Java the only supported
 > > language.  Can you say "Just like the Zaurus[1]", children?  I knew
 > > you could![2]
 > 
 > 
 > What about using Ruby for your apps?

Heck, if it worked I'd even consider using Perl.

 > http://androidguys.com/?p=3860

What about it?  It says the Ruby interpreter runs.  (Which is good
enough for me personally, but will it create a market to rival the
stuff being done for the iPhone?)  It doesn't say what apps anyone has
written (for all we know the guy who says "I really use it" likes
computing factorials and Fibonacci numbers).  It doesn't say it has
access to the embedded libraries, which aren't Java.

It's the latter that was one of the big issues for the Zaurus.  You
had to set up a finicky cross-compilation environment if you wanted to
use the Sharp ROM.  So most of the hackers (who were biased against
the Sharp ROM anyway, since it was full of proprietary junk) were
using the OpenZaurus (later Familiar, IIRC) ROM.  But it was precisely
the proprietary junk (for Asians, especially the tegaki input method)
that made the Zaurus attractive to a lot of people.  Not to mention
that Qtopia (the proprietary "we don't need no steenkin' X" version of
Qt) apps were much more lightweight than if you needed to run an X
server.

It's interesting that a search for (wait for it ... DON!!) "Python" on
the Android sites comes up with two hits, and "jython" none.  Both
Python references are for servers for Android apps, but the apps
themselves are presumably written in Java (not Ruby, they predate the
URL you posted).  "perl" gets 8 hits, the first four of which were
embedded in "properly", so I stopped looking.  Obviously the idea of
putting a powerful language that allows in-place hacking is not on the
radar here, no matter what JRuby enthusiasts say.

JRuby could easily work.  If it does, it will be a big plus for both
Ruby (assuming they get there before Jython etc do) and for Android.
But this thread is about "what should Dave do right now", and right
now I worry that Android will be all about pros writing apps that you
will have to pay for, and won't be able to fix when broken.