[erlang-questions] Elixir vs. Erlang

[Metin Akat]

I've been writing Erlang exclusively for more than 5 years now so my
opinion is certainly biased, but here are my 2 cents.

Advantages over Erlang (sorted by importance to me):

* Ability to define modules with code, instead of with new files
* The meta-programming capabilities

Disadvantages compared to Erlang (again, sorted by importance to me):

* Elixir strongly discourages the use of records. I know records are
controversial, but they are "the right choice"  for me in lots of
situations. They are faster; they get verified during compile time and as a
result editors can display errors while you are typing the code.
* Elixir gives you enough rope to hang yourself with its modules, imports
and aliasing capabilities. They are good ideas per se, but because of these
things I find it more difficult to read Elixir code than it is to read
Erlang code. On the other hand, Erlang is harder to type, but much easier
to read and understand. I tend to prefer the Erlang way.
* Elixir will always lag behind with new functionality when new Erlang
versions get released. This is normal and usually not a big deal, but
certainly a thing to be aware of.


Metin



On Sat, Apr 23, 2016 at 11:42 PM, Lee Sylvester <lee.sylvester@REDACTED>
wrote:

> I love Elixir, but I love Erlang, too.  In my opinion, there's little
> enough to justify the change in language, and certainly little enough in
> the capabilities to even justify giving it thought.  The only reason I
> choose Elixir over Erlang for much of my work is that I prefer mix to Rebar
> and I like the macro capabilities of Elixir.
>
> My 5 cents.
>
> Lee
>
>
> On Sun, Apr 24, 2016 at 8:39 AM, Onorio Catenacci <Catenacci@REDACTED>
> wrote:
>
>> Hi Andrew,
>>
>> I'm not sure why you bother to announce that you're picking Erlang over
>> Elixir?  I don't know why you feel the need to make an announcement but it
>> sounds as if you're looking for others to confirm you've made the right
>> choice. Only you can know what the right choice is in your situation.
>>
>> I don't see Elixir vs Erlang as a zero-sum game.  I think it's a shame
>> some developers think of it as a either/or choice.
>>
>> --
>> Onorio
>>
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>
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