Monday, February 13, 2006

Two new interviews with Rails creator David Heinemeier Hansson

Posted by marcel

MySQL developer Lenz Grimmer has a quick chat with David for the MySQL developer zone.

Also, uk.BUILDER.com has a long and insightful interview. David explains how 1.0 should have really been 2.0, what the continuum of database evil entails, why Rails is useful for the enterprise and the joys of aesthetic moments with Ruby. It’s a laundry list of David’s ideology, all in one place. A window into the culture and personality driving Rails.

Choice excerpts:

  • I am not a vendor. I don’t work on Rails to please other people, I work on it to please me. That’s the beauty of open source. I’m free to make technology choices unrestricted by legacy or ill-advised customers. If you don’t “buy” Rails, it’s no skin off my back. There are plenty of people who do buy it because they share the priorities presented.
  • So if labelling me “crazy” helps you ignore the disruptions Rails is bringing to the table, I say go for it. Maybe that’s an accurate label for me in the current situation you’re in. And if there’s no interest or ability to get out of that situation, it’s probably best to write me and Rails off as crazy such that you can head into work with a smile tomorrow.
  • Once a high-level component becomes big enough to be interesting, it’ll take more work to configure it than it would take to build just what you needed from scratch.

Should be required reading for anyone interested in Rails.