Is Ruby easier to learn than Java?

[Rogerio Kioshi]

Hi,

Do you think learning Ruby is easier and faster than learning Java?

Thank you

[David Newton]

Yes and no. The basics, easier. The non-basics, harder. Java-the-language is (almost) very simple. Ruby-the-language, due to its dynamic nature and meta-programming capabilities, is harder.

[Vyas Sanzgiri]

In simple terms it is harder because there are many more features that you need to know. But it is worth the effort!

[David Newton]

I disagree that you *need* to know the complicated stuff, especially when starting out. Lots of very productive work is done in Ruby without knowing anything about metaprogramming.

[Paolo Perrotta]

Yes, it depends on what you're learning - and who you are. For me, Ruby is much easier than Java overall. Learning the basics of Ruby is easier than learning the basics of Java for most beginners, and the Ruby environment (APIs, popular libraries, standards) is tiny compared to Java's huge Land Of Acronyms (LOA).

That being said, I agree that learning the details of the Ruby language is arguably more difficult than learning advanced Java. Ruby is easy to learn, harder to master.