[erlang-questions] node.js vs erlang

[Loïc Hoguin]

On 06/19/2014 03:29 PM, Miles Fidelman wrote:
> Loïc Hoguin wrote:
>> On 06/18/2014 10:22 PM, Kenneth Lundin wrote:
>>> That is what I meant, you are using a more complex setup with Erlang in
>>> order to get more features. So the comparision with other languages
>>> "simple setup" is not fair.
>>
>> The setup is more complex but the way we get there isn't. Have you
>> read the getting started chapter[1]? The release part is smaller than
>> it would take to explain "erl -run" or "erl -s": we don't have to
>> write extra code for it, we don't have to manually setup paths, we
>> don't have to deal with reltool, and so on. It's literally "create
>> relx.config, put this in it, run make again". Bam you got a release.
>> That part can't get any simpler.
>>
>> Erlang *is* more complex to use than many other languages (it is still
>> simpler than C, C++ and the like though). Either you do things
>> manually by downloading dependencies manually and such, or you use a
>> build system like erlang.mk (or rebar) to automate things which
>> requires you to create an OTP application.
>
> I think that's highly debatable.  At least from my perspective, Erlang
> ISN'T more complex than many other languages, and is perhaps simpler,
> when you factor in the entire ecosystem required to do any kind of
> serious work.

I didn't repeat but what I said was about getting started, and in 
particular in a web development setting, where pretty much every other 
platform just require you to drop a file in the right folder and you're 
done.

Erlang is simpler than C for sure, and I don't know (nor care) about 
Java but I wouldn't be surprised if it was simpler too. Only those 
aren't really used for web development. (Some people do, but you're a 
lot more likely to find a PHP web developer than a C/Java one, at least 
in my experience.)

-- 
Loïc Hoguin
http://ninenines.eu