Ruby is described as 'Dynamic, reflective, general purpose object-oriented programming language that combines syntax inspired by Perl with Smalltalk-like features. Ruby originated in Japan during the mid-1990s and was initially developed and designed by Yukihiro "Matz" Matsumoto' and is a very popular programming language in the development category. There are more than 50 alternatives to Ruby for a variety of platforms, including Linux, Windows, Mac, BSD and Web-based apps. The best Ruby alternative is Python, which is both free and Open Source. Other great apps like Ruby are JavaScript, Java, PHP and C++.