

Ask HN: What Would Happen if More Developers Charged for Python/Ruby Components? - danvoell

I am a beginner rails developer and I am intrigued by RubyMotion as a paid component and it's growth and support compared to the vast majority of stagnant open source ruby components. I am wondering why there are so few Ruby/Python components for purchase. I would think this could lead to more sophisticated plug and play tools since developers could devote more time to them if it is a source of revenue. I know this kind of goes back to the famous Bill Gates letter - http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Open_Letter_to_Hobbyists<p>Would Rails/Python start to become more like PHP? Would they lose more developers or gain more developers? Would it be bad for the language if more developers charged?
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rquantz
My gut reaction is it would become more like ASP.NET, where many libraries
cost money, but largely don't appear to be of any higher quality. And having
to pay for components discourages students and newbies from learning. I think
it's hard to argue that the open-source nature of the ruby community has been
anything but good for adoption.

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danvoell
That was my gut feeling as well although PHP seems to walk the line pretty
well...but it doesn't seem to attract the most talented developers. I wasn't
sure if that was because of deficiency's with the language or because of the
saturation of components (many below par) for sale.

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whichdan
Do you really see all that many paid PHP components? I've run across very few.
Most of PHP's quality code tends to be wrapped up in frameworks, and anyone
new to programming or PHP in general has the unfortunate task of dealing with
something like WordPress or mediocre/outdated tutorials without much guidance.

