IronRuby 1.0 (soon), Inside IronRuby and Professional IronRuby

By Michael Foord -
IronPython 1.0, a complete implementation of Python for the .NET framework, was released in September 2006. The first IronPython 2.0 release (Alpha 1) came in April 2007. IronPython 2.0 was built on the new Dynamic Language Runtime (DLR) which was a framework for implementing dynamic languages in general, which had been abstracted out of the IronPython 1.0 release.

Along with the new IronPython 2.0 project IronRuby was announced. IronRuby was an implementation of Ruby for .NET, led by John Lam who had previously been involved in the RubyCLR project. It has been a long road for IronRuby, with the latest release version 0.5.
Following their tradition of conference driven releases (panic-driven-development?) IronRuby 1.0 will be released at the coming OSCON 2009 conference:
IronRuby is 1.0! Come and see how IronRuby is used in .NET programs, how well it performs, and how conformant it is. IronRuby is an Open Source implementation of the Ruby programming language, built on top of Microsoft’s Open Source Dynamic Language Runtime. OSCON has an important place in the history of IronRuby, and it is only appropriate that we launch IronRuby 1.0 at OSCON 2009.
Jimmy Schementi is a member of the Microsoft dynamic languages team. In this 43 minutes channel 9 video he discusses the IronRuby project:
Jimmy Schementi is a Program Manager (and developer) on the IronRuby team. IronRuby is an Open Source implementation of the Ruby programming language for .NET, heavily relying on Microsoft's Dynamic Language Runtime. IronRuby is Ruby, but implemented on top of the DLR (which of course provides the capability for dynamic languages to interact with the BCL and CLR).

You've learned about the details of the DLR here on 9, which provides dynamic runtime support for .NET. IronRuby targets compatibility with the 1.8.x branch of Ruby modulo continuations. IronRuby is an implementation of Ruby version 1.8.6.

Here, Jimmy explains the thinking behind the IronRuby project. Why are we doing this, anyway? When/Why would Ruby developers use IronRuby? What's the current status of the project? What's the future hold for IronRuby? Tune in and learn about the past, present and future of IronRuby.
Early reviews of IronRuby in Action (for Manning Publications by Ivan Porto Carrero) are good, but it isn't the only IronRuby book in progress. Hot on the heels of Pro IronPython being released is Professional IronRuby, by Wrox and due out any day.
Professional IronRuby provides a complete guided tour through IronRuby, demonstrating why Ruby is important, what IronRuby can add to your .NET development arsenal, and how you can take advantage of Ruby while utilizing existing infrastructures. Building on your existing .NET knowledge, the authors will walk you through Ruby’s syntax and structure and the ways you can use IronRuby for .NET projects. Learn how to apply IronRuby to ASP.NET and Silverlight and decide where to develop your components, with straight-forward guidance on when and why to use IronRuby instead of C#, and vice versa.
Meanwhile Ivan continues to work IronRuby in Action (the companion book to IronPython in Action). He has just posted a sample ASP.NET MVC example using IronRuby to his blog that will be one of the examples in the book.

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