On the one hand, this new draft standard ought to make efforts like MagLev easier. On the other hand, note that the spec is based on 1.8.7, while Ruby has moved on to 1.9/2.0. Meaning that by the time this draft becomes a standard (if it does), it will likely be so obsolete as to be largely meaningless.

Which is pretty much what happens with language standards :) Personally, I love the rationale:

First, we use Ruby 1.8.7 as the primary reference. Ruby 1.8 is widely used now and there are several implementations which implement Ruby 1.8 features only. Also, it seems that Ruby 1.8 continues to be used in the years to come. Some might argue that we should use Ruby 1.9 as the primary reference, but Ruby 1.9 is moving fast and its features change frequently. Once we draft the specification based on Ruby 1.9, the specification and Ruby 1.9 would get quickly out of sync.

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