Erlang does have problems

[Yariv Sadan]

>
> Even the "flagship" Erlang apps have their problems. ejabberd uses
> tons of memory because strings are being passed around as lists
> despite being received as binaries from the socket. This is a problem
> on 32-bit systems as it limits the number of users you can host and
> it's a bigger problem on 64-bit systems as words are LARGER.

If this is really THE problem for Erlang systems, I think Erlang
should be extended with a native String type. It would have similar
functions to lists, but be more efficient. It really doesn't sound
like such an insurmountable issue to me, but maybe I'm understimating
what it would take.


>
> Some high-profile messaging startups are using ejabberd now, although
> they don't advertise it. They are also considering dropping ejabberd
> and either going with a commercial implementation or writing their
> own stuff. I know because I keep in touch with them.

I know that Meebo, jabber.org, and Gizmo project all use Ejabberd and
as far as I know they are happy with it. These are all very big
deployments.

>
> Despite the Ericsson AXD 301 advocacy there are no high-profile
> Erlang deployments that I know about. There should be and we should
> all know! That is if we want Erlang to become mainstream. On the
> other hand, why bother?

Erlang doesn't have to become mainstream. It just has to make OUR
lives easier. That's my take on it, anyway :)

Best,
Yariv