Erlang is getting too big

DANIESC SCHUTTE DANIESC.SCHUTTE@REDACTED
Tue Oct 14 10:09:42 CEST 2003



>>> "Vlad Dumitrescu" <vlad_dumitrescu@REDACTED> 10/14/03 09:24AM >>>

*** Is there a way to keep the balance, so that everybody is happy?

I think Joe's (et al.) proposal of more clearly separating kernel Erlang from
OTP would be one good way to go in that direction. Not only at the code level,
but also above that. Unless of course, Erlang is seen as a necessary evil that
is used to distribute OTP ;-)

I'm babbling a little, but hopefully it's making some sense.

* Keep Erlang easy to learn for total beginners? Yes, but then dumping the whole
OTP on them at once might be a contradiction in terms.
* Take away the "telecom" mark from Erlang and step into other areas? Yes, and
again having to handle the whole OTP is somewhat working against that.
* Leave open the chance to improve Erlang? Yes, the new stuff might be provided
as a library, not as kernel language.

―-

Just my 2 cents 

The biggest problem that I found with "beginner Erlang" programmers was the fact that this is a "functional" language rather than an OO language - and the paradigm shift from other mainstream languages (Pascal / C / C++ / VB :) ) are the stumbling blocks - but once made - it works.

My personal suggestion and something I would personally like to contribute towards, is possibly even more tutorials or "how to's" on the OTP stuff - this would solve a lot of the unknows for some programmers.

The Telecom mark has never actually bothered us :)  erlang is a tool - and utilizing it in other sectors is part of the "creativity" and "lateral thinking ability" of developers and software engineers - why ignore where it origionated.

Personally - we use only the "applications" that we need - and as we grow - we find the additional applications provide us with more and more functionality.

The fact that Erlang is growing shows me one thing - IT'S ALIVE AND KICKING.  Systems that are used evolve and improve.  The maintenance might be difficult but I think that the Erlang development team has shown great competency in that respect.

It might just be a perceptiob problem.  As long as the system is maintainable - I don't see a problem with additional applications / add-ons.  The biggest problem might be users saying "so much to learn so little time" - to them I advise - take it an application at a time. 

Regards
Daniel

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