• Would you like to quickly get started with JRuby and JRuby on Rails?  Are you frustrated that JRuby web resources are scattered here and there? ...
  

• Did you ever wished seeing a central website where it is quick and easy for you to find  JRuby web  resources?  Are you a java developer who wants to learn more about Ruby? Are you a Ruby developer who wants to see an alternative platform for deploying Ruby on Rails applications? Are you a Ruby developer who needs to use JRuby as extension to Ruby accessing some functionality already provided in a Java library? Then, Welcome to JRubyHub.com and happy browsing and digging!

• Ruby is an interpreted, dynamically typed, pure object-oriented, scripting language with a focus on simplicity and productivity. It was created by Yukihiro Matsumoto a.k.a Matz, from Japan, in 1995. Ruby was named by its creator after the precious gem. Ruby has exploded in popularity, spurred in part by the agility of the Ruby on Rails  (RoR) web framework. RoR was created by David Heinemeier Hansson from  Denmark who is currently a partner at Chicago-based firm 37signals. RoR was first released to the public in July 2004 and it is now at version 2.0 as of December 7th, 2007.

• JRuby, originally created by Jan Arne Petersen in 2001, is an interpreter of Ruby written in Java. This means that it runs Ruby programs under the JVM and, therefore, runs portably anywhere that Java runs (which is nearly everywhere). JRuby is now sponsored by Sun as 2 of the core JRuby developers -Charles Nutter and Thomas Enebo, are employees at Sun Microsystems since September 2006.

• JRuby allows Java code to be easily called from Ruby, enables Ruby on Rails applications to be deployed as WAR files and take advantage of Java ecosystem such as existing EE features: clustering, failover and remote management. It  supports real threads, provides native unicode support, can be used for domain specific languages and more. Running Ruby apps on JRuby also gives developers access to the host of profiling and monitoring tools available for the Java platform.

• JRuby 1.0 was released on June 14, 2007. The first commercial product running on JRuby on Rails, Mingle by Chicago-based ThoughWorks, was released on June 2007.  The first JRuby book was published on September 2007; Practical JRuby on Rails Web 2.0 Projects: Bringing Ruby on Rails to Java, by Ola Bini, JRuby project lead. The first major JRuby application: Oracle Mix,  was released on Nov 16, 2007 by Oracle. All this, demonstrate the increasing popularity and viability of JRuby.

• BUT, one  of the challenges with JRuby is the lack of documentation. JRuby documentation is lagging a bit and scattered over different weblogs and other web resources. Neither the current site hosting JRuby nor the related Wiki are really helpful to developers, such as myself, with a hunger to keep learning and update their skills.

• By selecting, reviewing and categorizing  JRuby resources in JRubyHub.com, I 'm not only fulfilling my hunger for learning but also hoping to help the expanding JRuby and JRoR community.

• I hope that JRubyHub.com, with your involvement and contribution, will grow into the Knowledge Base for JRuby  making it easier to find JRuby and JRoR related web resources and keep in touch with the latest developments.

• As JRubyHub.com is daily updated with new resources, please enjoy today and come back tomorrow! Your feedback and contibutions are welcome.

Slim Baltagi

Chicago, USA