San Francisco -

Ruby, the popular open source dynamic language, is making headway not only on Java but also on the Windows and Mac platforms.

Appearing at the RubyConf event in Burlingame, Calif., on Friday afternoon, Engine Yard officials offered insights on JRuby, which puts Ruby on the JVM (Java Virtual Machine).  JRuby also functions with Windows. Apple personnel at the conference detailed MacRuby, which puts Ruby on Mac OS.

[ See InfoWorld's report on the JVM supporting multiple languages. ]

JRuby 1.4.0 was released November 2, featuring a native executable capability for Windows.

"Over the years, we realized that we've been basically ignoring the Windows platform because we don't really like the Windows platform," said Charles Nutter, co-leader of the JRuby project with Thomas Enebo at Engine Yard. Both previously led the project at Sun Microsystems.

But most of the world's developers still run Windows, especially in the Java world, said Nutter. Proponents of JRuby are going to have make sure it can work on Windows, Nutter said. "We finally realized we can't ignore that side of the world," he said.

"I think JRuby may actually be the easiest way to run Ruby on Windows right now," said Nutter. JRuby previously has worked on Windows, but version 1.4.0 cleans up a lot of bugs pertaining to Windows, Nutter said.

Also featured in the JRuby upgrade are