The Ruby.NET Compiler: A Little Love

Amidst all the IronRuby hype, you could be forgiven if you didn't hear mention of the Ruby.NET Compiler. But if you use Ruby on Windows -- and you probably do if you're reading this blog -- you owe it to yourself to at least be aware of the work that Wayne Kelly and friends have been doing.

To quote the Ruby.NET page:

Ruby.NET is a compiler that translates Ruby source code into .NET intermediate code. This allows components implemented using the Ruby language to:

* Natively execute on the .NET platform
* Be linked with third party components developed using other .NET languages such as C#.
* Utilize the extensive resources of the .NET platform including visual design and debugging tools, the security framework and an extensive collection of class libraries used, for example, to create Windows forms, web and database applications.

Ruby.NET version 0.9 was released a couple weeks ago and can be installed via a binary installer from here. It requires the Microsoft .Net Framework version 2.0.

There's an optional Visual Studio integration package, which requires Visual Studio 2005 SDK version 4.0.

I've just started tinkering with this, so I can't provide any meaningful analysis or instruction on it yet. But I like the possibilities that it presents...

* Compile your code to a .Net executable
* Use the .NET framework's Forms library for your GUI
* Leverage the vast array of .NET framework libraries
* Work is currently underway to port the win32ole library to Ruby.NET

I'd like to see more documentation and examples, including Windows forms code samples. If you have Ruby.NET examples you would like to share, feel free to email them to me or post in the comments.

There's also a Ruby.NET Compiler Discussion group here.

So check it out and maybe, as Antonio Cangiano recommends, give Ruby.NET some love. I think this is a project that deserves much more attention.