Scripting languages such as Ruby, Python, Perl, and PHP are increasingly popular since they can greatly decrease development time compared to traditional languages, such as C, C++, Fortran, and Java. Although many variations exist, scripting languages are high-level programming languages that typically avoid explicit type declarations, interpret or compile code at runtime, and focus on simplicity and productivity rather than raw execution speed. Scripting languages have been particularly successful in tasks such as data extraction, web development, prototyping, report generation, and combining existing software to accomplish a task.
Ruby is a dynamic scripting language "with a focus on simplicity and productivity. It has an elegant syntax that is natural to read and easy to write" (Flanagan and Matsumoto 2008). Ruby supports features such as pure object orientation, closures, and mix-ins. Several implementations are available, the most mature being the reference C implementation, JRuby (which runs on the Java Virtual Machine), IronRuby (which runs on the .NET Framework), and Rubinius (an alternative implementation written in Ruby and C). Unfortunately statistical analysis routines and graphing abilities are quite limited in Ruby.
R is a scripting language and environment developed by statisticians for statistical computing and graphics with a large library of routines (R Development Core Team 2008). R has many contributors and a large user base which increases confidence in the correctness of the implementation. The graphing abilities of R are excellent.