# Ruby vs. TCL/TK? **URL:** \ **Category:** ruby-talk\ **Created:** [20 August 2002 12:01 UTC](https://rubytalk.org/t/ruby-vs-tcl-tk/1289 "2002-08-20T12:01:46Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 1\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Christopher\_J\_Meisen](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/c/f0a364/32.png) [@Christopher\_J\_Meisen](https://rubytalk.org/u/Christopher_J_Meisen)\ **Post date:** [20 August 2002 12:01 UTC](https://rubytalk.org/t/ruby-vs-tcl-tk/1289/1 "2002-08-20T12:01:46Z")
Thanks very much for the feedback, that was great insight! Now I’ll start looking for the easiest way to create a Gui for a Ruby app. 😉 Christopher J. Meisenzahl CPS, CSTE Senior Software Testing Consultant Spherion [christopher.j.meisenzahl@citicorp.com](mailto:christopher.j.meisenzahl@citicorp.com) > **···** > > > -----Original Message----- > > From: bbense+comp.lang.ruby.Aug.19.02 > > [[mailto:bbense+comp.lang.ruby.Aug.19.02@telemark.stanford.edu](mailto:bbense+comp.lang.ruby.Aug.19.02@telemark.stanford.edu)] > > Sent: Monday, August 19, 2002 4:29 PM > > To: bbense+comp.lang.ruby.Aug.19.02; ruby-talk > > Subject: Re: Ruby vs. TCL/TK? > > > > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE----- > > > > In article [H00019f0088ba98c@MHS](mailto:H00019f0088ba98c@MHS), > > [christopher.j.meisenzahl@citicorp.com](mailto:christopher.j.meisenzahl@citicorp.com) wrote: > > > > > I’ve just started playing w/ Ruby and like it quite a bit so far. > > > > - > > - Caution: My TCL knowledge is way out of date, I haven’t really > > looked at it closely since about 1995 or so… ( But I am in the > > FAQ… ) > > > > > But I was wondering, I know that TCL/TK has a large following out > > > there. Is > > > anyone here a convert from TCL/TK to Ruby? If so, why? What > > > do you consider the > > > relative advantages/disadvantages of each? > > > > - > > - TCL would be great if people used it for what it was designed > > for, a “Tool Command Language”. As an embeddable language I > > thought it was great, and while TK is showing it’s age in > > 1993 it was quite a step ahead of other available X toolkits. > > I found TCL to be somewhat painful as a general purpose > > scripting language. I think you can sum up the difference > > in the two languages as follows: > > > > In TCL everything is a string. > > > > In Ruby everything is a object. > > > > > Is it a fair comparison? > > > > - > > - IMHO, not really. One was designed to be imbedded from day One > > and the other is designed to be object-oriented from day One. > > They each make different compromises in design. If I were > > looking at embedding a scripting language in my application, > > I would not put Ruby at the top of my list[1], but I think > > TCL still compares favorably with things like Lua. Contrarily, > > TCL would probably be my last choice to write a pure scripting > > tool in these days. I think TCL’s popularity is basically > > down to two things: > > > > 1. It was there “fastest with the mostest”. In the early '90’s > > there was no scripting language with anywhere as near as > > good an Xwindows interface and toolkit. Add expect into the > > mix and you have a very powerful tool. > > > > 2. It was not perl. There were people that detested perl from > > the very first. > > > > > Can GUI apps be created with Ruby as easily as with TCL/TK? > > > > - > > - IMHO it’s easier in Ruby, getting documentation on the Ruby Tk > > interface is the hardest part. But, there are plenty of other > > Ruby GUI interfaces and some of then are even documented %-). > > > > - > > - Booker C. Bense > > > > [1]- Not at least the current ruby implementation. > > > > -----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE----- > > Version: 2.6.2 > > > > iQCVAwUBPWFPmmTWTAjn5N/lAQHegwQAhj7ofQNmVoRmG9VWVURaAavQ8nIrzkZv > > 7ZtZuQTTrX0lGxWGJHwxsIAsXkVTEBTDxZUQFZq2y5VYSyRAdeaNNNxwmIJYsoVF > > iehHgiATp40xUDEhII/C8TKteRajDYmp6WFvSTkYaPQcJ/549MtYdJueUN6Ss1PQ > > rIZosRWQdDc= > > =y4kD > > -----END PGP SIGNATURE-----