Need advice about which tool to choose?Ask the StackShare community!

Elm

729
743
+ 1
319
ReasonML

73
90
+ 1
8
Add tool

Elm vs ReasonML: What are the differences?

# Introduction
This markdown will outline the key differences between Elm and ReasonML.

1. **Syntax**: Elm has a more rigid syntax with a focus on simplicity and readability, while ReasonML offers more flexibility and is closer to traditional JavaScript syntax.
2. **Type System**: Elm has a simpler type system with strong static typing, while ReasonML provides a more complex type system with support for both static and dynamic typing.
3. **Frameworks and Ecosystem**: Elm has a smaller but more curated ecosystem with its own framework, while ReasonML can leverage the larger ecosystem of JavaScript libraries and frameworks.
4. **Compilation Target**: Elm compiles to JavaScript only, while ReasonML can target both JavaScript and native code with the help of BuckleScript.
5. **Immutability**: Elm enforces immutability by default, making it easier to reason about state changes, whereas ReasonML allows mutability but encourages immutability through its functional programming features.
6. **Community Support**: Elm has a dedicated and friendly community that focuses on simplicity and ease of use, while ReasonML's community is more diverse and includes developers from various backgrounds with different preferences and priorities.

In summary, Elm and ReasonML significantly differ in syntax, type system, ecosystem, compilation targets, approach to immutability, and community support.
Get Advice from developers at your company using StackShare Enterprise. Sign up for StackShare Enterprise.
Learn More
Pros of Elm
Pros of ReasonML
  • 45
    Code stays clean
  • 44
    Great type system
  • 40
    No Runtime Exceptions
  • 33
    Fun
  • 28
    Easy to understand
  • 23
    Type safety
  • 22
    Correctness
  • 17
    JS fatigue
  • 12
    Ecosystem agrees on one Application Architecture
  • 12
    Declarative
  • 10
    Friendly compiler messages
  • 8
    Fast rendering
  • 7
    If it compiles, it runs
  • 7
    Welcoming community
  • 5
    Stable ecosystem
  • 4
    'Batteries included'
  • 2
    Package.elm-lang.org
  • 4
    Pattern Matching
  • 3
    Type System
  • 1
    React

Sign up to add or upvote prosMake informed product decisions

Cons of Elm
Cons of ReasonML
  • 3
    No typeclasses -> repitition (i.e. map has 130versions)
  • 2
    JS interop can not be async
  • 2
    JS interoperability a bit more involved
  • 1
    More code is required
  • 1
    No JSX/Template
  • 1
    Main developer enforces "the correct" style hard
  • 1
    No communication with users
  • 1
    Backwards compability breaks between releases
  • 1
    Bindings

Sign up to add or upvote consMake informed product decisions

What is Elm?

Writing HTML apps is super easy with elm-lang/html. Not only does it render extremely fast, it also quietly guides you towards well-architected code.

What is ReasonML?

It lets you write simple, fast and quality type safe code while leveraging both the JavaScript & OCaml ecosystems.It is powerful, safe type inference means you rarely have to annotate types, but everything gets checked for you.

Need advice about which tool to choose?Ask the StackShare community!

What companies use Elm?
What companies use ReasonML?
See which teams inside your own company are using Elm or ReasonML.
Sign up for StackShare EnterpriseLearn More

Sign up to get full access to all the companiesMake informed product decisions

What tools integrate with Elm?
What tools integrate with ReasonML?
What are some alternatives to Elm and ReasonML?
TypeScript
TypeScript is a language for application-scale JavaScript development. It's a typed superset of JavaScript that compiles to plain JavaScript.
React
Lots of people use React as the V in MVC. Since React makes no assumptions about the rest of your technology stack, it's easy to try it out on a small feature in an existing project.
PureScript
A small strongly typed programming language with expressive types that compiles to JavaScript, written in and inspired by Haskell.
Haskell
It is a general purpose language that can be used in any domain and use case, it is ideally suited for proprietary business logic and data analysis, fast prototyping and enhancing existing software environments with correct code, performance and scalability.
Svelte
If you've ever built a JavaScript application, the chances are you've encountered – or at least heard of – frameworks like React, Angular, Vue and Ractive. Like Svelte, these tools all share a goal of making it easy to build slick interactive user interfaces. Rather than interpreting your application code at run time, your app is converted into ideal JavaScript at build time. That means you don't pay the performance cost of the framework's abstractions, or incur a penalty when your app first loads.
See all alternatives