Clojure vs F#

Overview

Clojure

Stacks1.9K

Followers1.4K

Votes1.1K

GitHub Stars10.7K

Forks1.5K

Stacks779

Followers556

Votes399

GitHub Stars2.2K

Forks316

Clojure vs F#: What are the differences?

Introduction: Clojure and F# are two popular programming languages known for their capabilities in functional programming.

Syntax: Clojure is a Lisp-like language with a functional programming paradigm, using parentheses heavily for coding structures, while F# is a member of the ML language family, with a syntax that is more similar to languages like C# and Java.
Platform: Clojure runs on the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) and the Common Language Runtime (CLR), allowing for seamless integration with Java and .NET frameworks, while F# is primarily designed to run on the CLR, providing easy interoperability with other .NET languages.
Immutability: Clojure promotes immutable data structures by default, ensuring a more functional approach to programming, whereas F# supports immutable data structures but also allows for mutable state when necessary.
Concurrency: Clojure emphasizes concurrent programming with its built-in support for software transactional memory (STM) and agents, providing powerful tools for managing and coordinating concurrent tasks, while F# offers support for asynchronous workflows and parallel programming through libraries like the Task Parallel Library (TPL).
Type System: F# has a strong static type system with type inference, allowing developers to catch errors at compile-time and write more robust code, while Clojure is dynamically typed, providing more flexibility but potentially leading to runtime errors if type mismatches occur.
Community and Ecosystem: Clojure has a vibrant community and a wealth of libraries available through its package manager, making it suitable for a wide range of applications, while F# has a smaller community but benefits from strong integration with the .NET ecosystem, offering access to a wide variety of libraries and tools.

In Summary, Clojure and F# differ in syntax, platform support, approach to immutability, concurrency solutions, type systems, and ecosystem integrations.

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Advice on Clojure, F#

Fronted

Nov 23, 2020

Decided

We’re a new startup so we need to be able to deliver quick changes as we find our product market fit. We’ve also got to ensure that we’re moving money safely, and keeping perfect records. The technologies we’ve chosen mix mature but well maintained frameworks like Django, with modern web-first and api-first front ends like GraphQL, NextJS, and Chakra. We use a little Golang sparingly in our backend to ensure that when we interact with financial services, we do so with statically compiled, strongly typed, and strictly limited and reviewed code.

You can read all about it in our linked blog post.

720k views720k

Comments

Prakhar

Feb 7, 2022

Needs adviceon

Java

JavaScript

Kotlin

Basically, I am looking for a good language that compiles to Java and JavaScript(and can use their libraries/frameworks). These JVM languages seem good to me, but I have no interest in Android. Which programming language is the best of these? I am looking for one with high money and something functional.

Edit: Kotlin was originally on this list but I removed it since I had no interest in Android

47.9k views47.9k

Comments

Markus

Feb 3, 2021

Needs adviceon

Kotlin

Java

Hi there. I want to expand my coding toolset. So I want to learn a second backend language besides Kotlin. Kotlin is fantastic. I love it in every aspect, and I think I can never return to Java. And also why should I? It is 100% interoperable with java and can co-exist in every project.

So my question here is. Which language do you think will bring me more joy? I think F#; it is more like Kotlin. Then C# (it's more or like 100% java). But, let's say I learn F#. Is it 100% interoperable like Kotlin? can they live side by side? Can I, then, apply to .NET jr jobs after a while, for example, or is C# the holy cow? I would like to learn .Net.

If it is the worst and only C# is acceptable, then which language should I learn? Dart? Golang?

284k views284k

Comments

Detailed Comparison

Clojure	F#
Clojure is designed to be a general-purpose language, combining the approachability and interactive development of a scripting language with an efficient and robust infrastructure for multithreaded programming. Clojure is a compiled language - it compiles directly to JVM bytecode, yet remains completely dynamic. Clojure is a dialect of Lisp, and shares with Lisp the code-as-data philosophy and a powerful macro system.	F# is a mature, open source, cross-platform, functional-first programming language. It empowers users and organizations to tackle complex computing problems with simple, maintainable and robust code.
Statistics
GitHub Stars 10.7K	GitHub Stars 2.2K
GitHub Forks 1.5K	GitHub Forks 316
Stacks 1.9K	Stacks 779
Followers 1.4K	Followers 556
Votes 1.1K	Votes 399
Pros & Cons
Pros 118 It is a lisp 101 Concise syntax 100 Persistent data structures 90 jvm-based language 89 Concurrency Cons 11 Cryptic stacktraces 5 Need to wrap basically every java lib 4 Toxic community 3 Good code heavily relies on local conventions 3 Slow application startup	Pros 53 Pattern-matching 42 Makes programming fun again 38 Type providers 32 Delightful 30 Frictionless Cons 3 Microsoft tend to ignore F# preferring to hype C# 2 Interop between C# can sometimes be difficult 1 Type Providers can be unstable in larger solutions 1 Hype
Integrations
Java	No integrations available

What are some alternatives to Clojure, F#?

JavaScript

JavaScript is most known as the scripting language for Web pages, but used in many non-browser environments as well such as node.js or Apache CouchDB. It is a prototype-based, multi-paradigm scripting language that is dynamic,and supports object-oriented, imperative, and functional programming styles.

Python

Python is a general purpose programming language created by Guido Van Rossum. Python is most praised for its elegant syntax and readable code, if you are just beginning your programming career python suits you best.

PHP

Fast, flexible and pragmatic, PHP powers everything from your blog to the most popular websites in the world.

Ruby

Ruby is a language of careful balance. Its creator, Yukihiro “Matz” Matsumoto, blended parts of his favorite languages (Perl, Smalltalk, Eiffel, Ada, and Lisp) to form a new language that balanced functional programming with imperative programming.

Java

Java is a programming language and computing platform first released by Sun Microsystems in 1995. There are lots of applications and websites that will not work unless you have Java installed, and more are created every day. Java is fast, secure, and reliable. From laptops to datacenters, game consoles to scientific supercomputers, cell phones to the Internet, Java is everywhere!

Golang

Go is expressive, concise, clean, and efficient. Its concurrency mechanisms make it easy to write programs that get the most out of multicore and networked machines, while its novel type system enables flexible and modular program construction. Go compiles quickly to machine code yet has the convenience of garbage collection and the power of run-time reflection. It's a fast, statically typed, compiled language that feels like a dynamically typed, interpreted language.

HTML5

HTML5 is a core technology markup language of the Internet used for structuring and presenting content for the World Wide Web. As of October 2014 this is the final and complete fifth revision of the HTML standard of the World Wide Web Consortium (W3C). The previous version, HTML 4, was standardised in 1997.

C#

C# (pronounced "See Sharp") is a simple, modern, object-oriented, and type-safe programming language. C# has its roots in the C family of languages and will be immediately familiar to C, C++, Java, and JavaScript programmers.

Scala

Scala is an acronym for “Scalable Language”. This means that Scala grows with you. You can play with it by typing one-line expressions and observing the results. But you can also rely on it for large mission critical systems, as many companies, including Twitter, LinkedIn, or Intel do. To some, Scala feels like a scripting language. Its syntax is concise and low ceremony; its types get out of the way because the compiler can infer them.

Elixir

Elixir leverages the Erlang VM, known for running low-latency, distributed and fault-tolerant systems, while also being successfully used in web development and the embedded software domain.

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Clojure vs F#: What are the differences?

Introduction: Clojure and F# are two popular programming languages known for their capabilities in functional programming.

Syntax: Clojure is a Lisp-like language with a functional programming paradigm, using parentheses heavily for coding structures, while F# is a member of the ML language family, with a syntax that is more similar to languages like C# and Java.
Platform: Clojure runs on the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) and the Common Language Runtime (CLR), allowing for seamless integration with Java and .NET frameworks, while F# is primarily designed to run on the CLR, providing easy interoperability with other .NET languages.
Immutability: Clojure promotes immutable data structures by default, ensuring a more functional approach to programming, whereas F# supports immutable data structures but also allows for mutable state when necessary.
Concurrency: Clojure emphasizes concurrent programming with its built-in support for software transactional memory (STM) and agents, providing powerful tools for managing and coordinating concurrent tasks, while F# offers support for asynchronous workflows and parallel programming through libraries like the Task Parallel Library (TPL).
Type System: F# has a strong static type system with type inference, allowing developers to catch errors at compile-time and write more robust code, while Clojure is dynamically typed, providing more flexibility but potentially leading to runtime errors if type mismatches occur.
Community and Ecosystem: Clojure has a vibrant community and a wealth of libraries available through its package manager, making it suitable for a wide range of applications, while F# has a smaller community but benefits from strong integration with the .NET ecosystem, offering access to a wide variety of libraries and tools.

In Summary, Clojure and F# differ in syntax, platform support, approach to immutability, concurrency solutions, type systems, and ecosystem integrations.