So I was reading an article on slashdot today about Java being open sourced.  What caught my eye most of all was how critical people are about it now.  Back in the day, it was the greatest thing.  But it grew, and as it grew by adding apis and more features, it got bloated.  And now is overly complex, at least to a few people.

So I wondered, how does a language grow without taking away what makes it good.  I was thinking mostly about what some would tell me is the newly established next best thing, Ruby.  I’ll admit that I do not know that much about it, having not used it.  But I wonder: as it is more adopted, and people add more and more to it, will it suffer the same fate?  Will it be cast aside in favor of the newer, newly established next best thing in a few years?  Is it actually the newer version of VB?

Maybe the best thing to do with a language is keep is simple at it’s core, and add surround it with completely separate components that integrate easily, but are not necessary to even install if you won’t be using it.  In that way, what makes Ruby great, doesn’t have to change.  When more functionality is added, it is added by interface as needed.  However, I think this would lead to a different type of doom.

This is Tom, check back for my feelings on all things Geek! I’ll mainly focus on Microsoft technologies, especially WPF and Silverlight, but will also tear apart Sci-Fi like Battlestar Galactica, and whatever I feel like on any given day. Make sure to drop me a line and let me know what you think.