Need advice about which tool to choose?Ask the StackShare community!
Elixir vs Erlang: What are the differences?
Concurrent programming: One key difference between Elixir and Erlang is their approach to concurrent programming. Elixir provides a more developer-friendly syntax and tools for concurrent programming compared to Erlang. It has the concept of processes and lightweight threads called "actors" that allow for easy and efficient parallelism. Erlang, on the other hand, has a strong focus on concurrency and fault-tolerance, with its own process model and message-passing mechanisms, making it ideal for building highly scalable and fault-tolerant distributed systems.
Syntax and expressiveness: Elixir is based on the Erlang VM, but it offers a more modern and expressive syntax compared to Erlang. Elixir introduces a Ruby-like syntax that is more readable and enjoyable for many developers. It also includes features like pattern matching, metaprogramming, and polymorphism, which are not as readily available in Erlang. These features make Elixir a more flexible and powerful language for developing applications.
Tooling and ecosystem: Elixir has a growing and vibrant ecosystem with a rich set of libraries and tools. The language has its own package manager called Hex, which provides easy access to libraries and dependencies. Elixir also has a built-in build tool called Mix, which makes it simple to create and manage projects. In contrast, Erlang has a more mature ecosystem with a focus on stability and reliability. It has its own package manager called rebar3 and a build tool called OTP (Open Telecom Platform) that provides tools for building and deploying Erlang applications.
Functional programming: Both Elixir and Erlang are functional programming languages, but Elixir takes a more "functional-first" approach compared to Erlang. Elixir encourages the use of immutable data structures and pure functions, making it easier to reason about and test code. Erlang, on the other hand, allows for more mutable state and side effects, which can make it more challenging to write and maintain code in a purely functional style.
Metaprogramming: Elixir has a powerful metaprogramming system that allows developers to dynamically generate and modify code at compile-time. This feature enables powerful abstractions and code generation, making Elixir great for building frameworks and DSLs (Domain Specific Languages). Erlang, on the other hand, does not have built-in metaprogramming capabilities, which can limit the flexibility and expressiveness of the language.
Community and community support: Elixir has a thriving and welcoming community that actively supports and contributes to the language. There are numerous online resources, forums, and meetups dedicated to Elixir and its ecosystem. The community is known for its friendliness and willingness to help others. Erlang also has a strong community, but it may not be as large as the Elixir community. However, Erlang benefits from being a mature language with a stable and well-established community that has been around for many years.
In summary, Elixir and Erlang have key differences in their approach to concurrent programming, syntax and expressiveness, tooling and ecosystem, functional programming, metaprogramming, and community support. While Elixir offers a more developer-friendly syntax, advanced tooling, and a powerful metaprogramming system, Erlang excels in concurrency and fault-tolerance and has a more mature and stable ecosystem.
#rust #elixir So am creating a messenger with voice call capabilities app which the user signs up using phone number and so at first i wanted to use Actix so i learned Rust so i thought to myself because well its first i felt its a bit immature to use actix web even though some companies are using Rust but we cant really say the full potential of Rust in a full scale app for example in Discord both Elixir and Rust are used meaning there is equal need for them but for Elixir so many companies use it from Whatsapp, Wechat, etc and this means something for Rust is not ready to go full scale we cant assume all this possibilities when it come Rust. So i decided to go the Erlang way after alot of Thinking so Do you think i made the right decision?Am 19 year programmer so i assume am not experienced as you so your answer or comment would really valuable to me
We have a lot of experience in JavaScript, writing our services in NodeJS allows developers to transition to the back end without any friction, without having to learn a new language. There is also the option to write services in TypeScript, which adds an expressive type layer. The semi-shared ecosystem between front and back end is nice as well, though specifically NodeJS libraries sometimes suffer in quality, compared to other major languages.
As for why we didn't pick the other languages, most of it comes down to "personal preference" and historically grown code bases, but let's do some post-hoc deduction:
Go is a practical choice, reasonably easy to learn, but until we find performance issues with our NodeJS stack, there is simply no reason to switch. The benefits of using NodeJS so far outweigh those of picking Go. This might change in the future.
PHP is a language we're still using in big parts of our system, and are still sometimes writing new code in. Modern PHP has fixed some of its issues, and probably has the fastest development cycle time, but it suffers around modelling complex asynchronous tasks, and (on a personal note) lack of support for writing in a functional style.
We don't use Python, Elixir or Ruby, mostly because of personal preference and for historic reasons.
Rust, though I personally love and use it in my projects, would require us to specifically hire for that, as the learning curve is quite steep. Its web ecosystem is OK by now (see https://www.arewewebyet.org/), but in my opinion, it is still no where near that of the other web languages. In other words, we are not willing to pay the price for playing this innovation card.
Haskell, as with Rust, I personally adore, but is simply too esoteric for us. There are problem domains where it shines, ours is not one of them.
Pros of Elixir
- Concurrency173
- Functional161
- Erlang vm133
- Great documentation112
- Great tooling105
- Immutable data structures86
- Open source81
- Pattern-matching77
- Easy to get started62
- Actor library59
- Functional with a neat syntax32
- Ruby inspired29
- Erlang evolved25
- Homoiconic24
- Beauty of Ruby, Speed of Erlang/C22
- Fault Tolerant17
- Simple14
- High Performance13
- Pipe Operator11
- Good lang11
- Doc as first class citizen11
- Fun to write9
- Stinkin' fast, no memory leaks, easy on the eyes9
- Resilient to failure8
- OTP8
- GenServer takes the guesswork out of background work6
- Idempotence4
- Pattern matching4
- Not Swift4
- Fast, Concurrent with clean error messages4
- Easy to use3
- Error isolation2
- Dynamic Typing2
Pros of Erlang
- Real time, distributed applications62
- Concurrency Support62
- Fault tolerance58
- Soft real-time36
- Open source32
- Message passing22
- Functional programming22
- Immutable data16
- Works as expected14
- Facebook chat uses it at backend6
- Practical5
- Knowledgeable community5
- Bullets included4
- WhatsApp uses it at backend1
Sign up to add or upvote prosMake informed product decisions
Cons of Elixir
- Fewer jobs for Elixir experts11
- Smaller userbase than other mainstream languages7
- Elixir's dot notation less readable ("object": 1st arg)5
- Dynamic typing4
- Difficult to understand2
- Not a lot of learning books available1
Cons of Erlang
- Languange is not popular demand1