Posts tagged "Elixir features"

Introduction to Elixir

Elixir is a very scalable and dynamically functional typed language built on Erlang’s VM. While this application has become prominent in some highly concurrent web applications, many people are still yet very unfamiliar with it. This article will take us through what Elixir is.

The main features of Elixir

– It is built on top of Erlang’s VM; this means that for all of the concurrency tools that Erlang possesses, Elixir has access to it. This has made it one of the most powerful programming languages for building highly scalable systems.

– It has a Ruby-like syntax; If you’ve had to program with Ruby at one time or the other, then Elixir becomes easy for you to navigate. Even though Ruby is a productivity-oriented language, it is deficient in concurrency and performance. However, this deficiency is made up for with Elixir.

– Elixir is highly functional; Elixir is not just process-oriented, but it also has all the constructs you anticipate from most modern programming languages. In addition, an immutable data structure and pattern matching further confers on it its high functionality.

– Elixir possesses dynamic typing in contrast to other functional languages such as Haskell and Scala. This insinuates that typing is checked in run time and not during compilation. This helps to increase the development speed for simple web applications.

Benefits of Elixir

– Concurrency; Elixir utilizes isolated processes and runs across all central processing units, and communicates via messages. In addition, the immutability of the data structure makes it easy to write concurrent programs on Elixir

– Scalability; The processes it possesses also ensure that it scales systems easily, either horizontally or vertically.

– Reliability; Elixir has a different approach to fault- tolerance; the supervisor system can quickly restart the lightweight processes in case of any production failure.

Functional Programming

Unlike some programming languages such as JavaScript or Python, Elixir code is structured in functions and modules instead of objects and classes. Furthermore, all of the data types are immutable. What functional programming does is that it takes advantage of many things such as declarative style of writing codes, pattern- matching and higher-order functions. With all of these, you achieve attendant benefits such as better testing and debugging, easier handling of concurrent programs, better maintenance, and high-level abstractions that simplify coding.

Phoenix 

Phoenix enables you to efficiently churn out web apps while not compromising on either speed or maintainability. The lightweight processes of Elixir are fantastic for problem-solving, especially concerning concurrency and scalability in web services. However, it is essential to note that the ecosystem of Phoenix and Elixir is not as mature and robust as that of Ruby on Rails or Python’s Django, so that one might run into problems. Well, the important thing is that the benefits outweigh the costs.

Why Choose Elixir For Your Next Software Development Project?

Elixir has become more and more popular in the programming world for a while now. The banking industry has given more attention because of its reliability and ability to manage heavy traffic. Data is frequently tracked, verified, consolidated, and monitored while ensuring complete security with no mistakes. It is also a better choice for scalable applications that require smooth operations.

This article will introduce Elixir as an alternative for popular programming languages, present its essential functions, pros, cons, and why you should consider it in your subsequent development.

What is Elixir?

According to the official Elixir website;

Elixir is a flexible language designed for developing scalable and maintainable applications. Elixir leverages the Erlang VM, runs low-latency, distributes fault-tolerant systems, and is also carefully used in web development and the software domain.

The language was developed in 2011 by José Valim, a former member of the Ruby team. It has a similar expressive syntax look and style. Aside from Ruby, Elixir is created and built upon Erlang. Due to its byte-code compatibility with the Erlang VM (BEAM) – used by companies like Whatsapp, Netflix, and Pinterest – is usable with it and its ecosystem and performances. Elixir is capable of handling huge traffics while delivering high performance and unique features. It was also based on the actor model – a concurrency model used to create systems.

Reg to StackOverflow, Elixir is among the top 10 most beneficial programming languages.

Main features of Elixir

Elixir brings functional programming with immutable states together and an actor-based approach to concurrency. It all is contained in a tidy, modern syntax. So what is the function of this efficient programming language? Let’s look at them together.

Built on Erlang VM

Elixir has access to all the concurrency equipment that Erlang has. It makes it one of the most efficient languages suitable for creating highly scalable, distributed systems while maintaining functions.

Dynamic typing

Elixir has dynamic typing, unlike other functional languages such as Scala or Haskell. Dynamic typing ensures that types are checked not during compilation but in run-time. It improves the development speed for web and mobile applications. What is more, is that static kinds can show in Elixir through type specs.

Ruby-like syntax

If you know how to use Ruby already, you know how to navigate Elixir since their syntaxes feel intensely familiar. Although Ruby is one of the most productive-oriented and concise languages, it lacks performance and concurrency. Those difficulties are solved by Erlang VM, making Elixir the best solution.

A functional language

Elixir and Erlang are frequently characterized as being in a platform of their own (as process-oriented). Elixir also has everything you would expect from modern FP languages, such as immutable data structures, which help with pattern matching for declarative code.

Pros of Elixir:

Scalable

Because Elixir operates on Erlang VM, it can use applications on multiple communicating nodes. It means it is effortless to develop more extensive web, mobile, and IoT apps that can easily be scaled over different servers, leading to better app performance.

Concurrency

The ability to run several methods simultaneously is essential when developing an app used by millions of users. In Elixir, several requests from multiple users can be taken care of simultaneously in real-time with no adverse effects.

Easy to use

Elixir is straightforward to read and write. It uses simple extensions to change data safely and efficiently. Many developers prefer Elixir for their projects, and why many new programmers are also learning it.

Fault-tolerant

Fault tolerance is practically one of the prominent features of Elixir. It offers built-in safety mechanisms that ensure the product work even when something goes wrong. Processes provide any failures to dependent processes are known, even on other servers, so that any challenges are fixed instantly.

Active community

Even though Elixir is quite an upcoming language that developed an active user platform where everyone is willing to assist and share knowledge, what is more, is that there are also lots of tutorials available to help you through the development process.

Pattern matching

Different feature signatures enable making much clearer intentions of how the code should behave in various cases. It helps to make the code clean and concise.

Performance

If you were to go through similar solutions written in Ruby and Elixir, you would get the same result. However, the Elixir solution would be easy to scale and simpler to develop. Read the post How Elixir Helped Me improve App Performance if you want to learn more about Elixir performance.

Domain-driven design

Elixir uses the Actor model as an easy process, which means that all aggregate can be input into a process, and the process itself would guarantee the necessary isolation.

Summary

Functions like scalability, high reliability, and ease of testing within this functional programming language make it the best choice in the banking industry and huge sites like Pinterest, Netflix, and Whatsapp. Thus, the open-source libraries developed by the growing community around Elixir confirm 20 years of tooling experience performed by the Elang community.