at least as the programming language languages are concerned. One of the things that will be presented on the MIX07 is Dynamic Language Runtime, a new platform suitable to host high level, dynamic languages such as Python and Ruby. For Python, there is already pretty decent .NET implementation - namely IronPython. What is coming now is IronPython 2.0 based on the DLR as well as - yesss - IronRuby.

It is great that this is happening. In Java world, JRuby is very close to being full implementation of the language. The speed of the JRuby is still not quite in the proximity of the C implementation, but the large selling point of JRuby is its capability of deploying Ruby application (or even a Rails application) inside Tomcat or any other Java Web container. This removes largest obstacle of using Ruby in enterprise environment - namely being "new" and not approved platform. When the .NET runtime will be able to host Ruby code, acceptance in enterprise space will be even higher.

It is interesting how many news related to Ruby and Rails I see lately. One explanation is a new car owner syndrom. When you buy a new car, you start notice that many more people must have done the same thing because there are suddenly lots of cars of same make and model around you. In reality - there is about the same number of your car's instances in circulation as before, just your attention is now focused and you start to see them, where before they went unnoticed.

But the other explanation is that maybe, maybe there is really something changing :-). Would not it be great ?