Why do Ruby developers appear not to use UML?

Question

I always hear about UML being used in Java projects but never in Ruby ones. Is this just a cultural difference or is there less of a need for modeling in Ruby development because it's part of a more 'agile' culture?

Answer 1

Obviously you can't generalize this to everybody, but programmers in languages like Ruby and Python tend to be less drawn to large design documents and UML because they view their language of choice as being concise and expressive enough that it isn't always necessary. There's a feeling of, "I could spend time and plot all this out in UML...or I could just write some Python that actually implements the design and expresses it in a language I like to read and lots of people can read." Java programs tend to feel "heavier" than their Ruby or Python counterparts — it's part of the design of the language.

Note that I'm not saying this is true of your project or even that it's true at all as a whole — this is just what I've observed about these programming cultures.

Answer 2

Call me crazy but UML isn't for me regardless of the application stack.