(Source: Robert Martin (UncleBob) in the pragprog-list) As a contractor you must do the best job you can for your client. This includes picking the best language for the situation. I agree that there are situations in which Ruby might be the best technical solution, but the worst political solution. In that case, you cannot use Ruby — you must use a technically inferior, but politically preferable language. There are other situations — more and more of them — in which Ruby is politically acceptable, and technically superior.