[erlang-questions] [Q] Why is Erlang VM better than traditional OS like Linux?

[Ladislav Lenart]

Hello.


On 6.8.2014 16:20, Lee Sylvester wrote:
> Hi Ladislav,
> 
> Erlang processes aren’t the same as OS processes (or even threads).
> Erlang processes are simply a stack.  Because Erlang uses the Actor
> model, sending data between them using messages, there is no
> corruption of memory, need for mutexes or locks, and as such,
> processes can be extremely small, extremely fast and easy to use.

Thank you for the explanation, but I already know this. I guess I am looking for
a more detailed explanation, if one is available...


Thank you,

Ladislav Lenart


> I’m no expert myself, but that’s the general gist.
> 
> Regards,
> Lee
> 
> 
> On 6 Aug 2014, at 15:15, Ladislav Lenart <lenartlad@REDACTED> wrote:
> 
>> Hello.
>>
>> A friend of mine asked me:
>>
>> Why is Erlang VM better at handling large volume of running processes than
>> traditional OS like Linux?
>>
>> I have realized that I really don't know.
>>
>> Is it because Erlang process occupies an order of magnitude less space than an
>> OS process?
>> Is it because a userspace scheduler such as Erlang VM is faster at process
>> switching? If so, why is that?
>> Is it somehow related to Erlang's share nothing philosophy? If so, how exactly?
>> Something else?
>>
>>
>> Thank you in advance for enlighten me (us),
>>
>> Ladislav Lenart
>>
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> 
>