Elixir (programming language)
| |
Paradigm | multi-paradigm: functional, concurrent, distributed, process-oriented |
---|---|
First appeared | 2011 |
Stable release |
1.7.3
/ 24 August 2018[1] |
Typing discipline | dynamic, strong |
Platform | Erlang |
License | Apache License 2.0[2] |
Filename extensions | .ex, .exs |
Website |
elixir-lang |
Influenced by | |
Erlang, Ruby, Clojure | |
Influenced | |
LFE |
Elixir is a functional, concurrent, general-purpose programming language that runs on the Erlang virtual machine (BEAM).[3] Elixir builds on top of Erlang and shares the same abstractions for building distributed, fault-tolerant applications. Elixir also provides a productive tooling and an extensible design. The latter is supported by compile-time metaprogramming with macros and polymorphism via protocols.[4]
Elixir is used by companies such as E-MetroTel, Pinterest[5] and Moz.[6] Elixir is also used for web development, by companies such as Bleacher Report, Discord, and Inverse,[7] and for building embedded systems.[8][9] The community organizes yearly events in United States[10], Europe[11] and Japan[12] as well as minor local events and conferences.[13][14]
On July 12, 2018, Honeypot released a mini-documentary on Elixir.[15]
History
José Valim is the creator of the Elixir programming language, an R&D project of Plataformatec. His goals were to enable higher extensibility and productivity in the Erlang VM while keeping compatibility with Erlang's ecosystem.[16] [17]
Features
- A language that compiles to bytecode for the Erlang Virtual Machine (BEAM)[18]
- Everything is an expression[18]
- Erlang functions can be called from Elixir without run time impact, due to compilation to Erlang bytecode, and vice versa
- Meta programming allowing direct manipulation of AST[18]
- Polymorphism via a mechanism called protocols. Like in Clojure, protocols provide a dynamic dispatch mechanism. However, this is not to be confused with multiple dispatch as Elixir protocols dispatch on a single type.
- Support for documentation via Python-like docstrings in the Markdown formatting language[18]
- Shared nothing concurrent programming via message passing (Actor model)[19]
- Emphasis on recursion and higher-order functions instead of side-effect-based looping
- Lightweight concurrency utilizing Erlang's mechanisms[18]
- Railway oriented programming via the
with
construct - Built-in tooling for managing dependencies, code compilation, running tests, formatting code, remote debugging and more
- Lazy and async collections with streams
- Pattern matching[18] to promote assertive code[20]
- Unicode support and UTF-8 strings
Examples
The following examples can be run in an iex shell or saved in a file and run from the command line by typing elixir <filename>
.
Classic Hello world example:
iex> IO.puts("Hello World!")
Hello World!
Comprehensions
iex> for n <- [1,2,3,4,5], rem(n, 2) == 1, do: n*n
[1, 9, 25]
Pattern Matching (destructuring)
iex> [1, a] = [1, 2]
iex> a
2
iex> {:ok, [hello: a]} = {:ok, [hello: "world"]}
iex> a
"world"
Pattern Matching (multiple clauses)
iex> case File.read("path/to/file") do
iex> {:ok, contents} -> IO.puts("found file: #{contents}")
iex> {:error, reason} -> IO.puts("missing file: #{reason}")
iex> end
Pipe Operator
iex> "1" |> String.to_integer() |> Kernel.*(2)
2
Modules
defmodule Fun do
def fib(0), do: 0
def fib(1), do: 1
def fib(n), do: fib(n-2) + fib(n-1)
end
Sequentially spawning a thousand processes
for num <- 1..1000, do: spawn fn -> IO.puts("#{num * 2}") end
Asynchronously performing a task
task = Task.async fn -> perform_complex_action() end
other_time_consuming_action()
Task.await task
Noteworthy Elixir projects
- Absinthe is a GraphQL implementation for Elixir
- Ecto is a database wrapper and language integrated query for Elixir
- Mix is a build automation tool for Elixir projects
- Nerves is framework and platform for embedded software
- Phoenix is a web framework built on Elixir
- Plug is a specification and conveniences for composable modules between web applications
See also
References
- ↑ "Releases - elixir-lang/elixir". Retrieved 31 August 2018 – via GitHub.
- ↑ "elixir/LICENSE at master · elixir-lang/elixir · GitHub". GitHub.
- ↑ "Most Popular Programming Languages of 2018 - Elite Infoworld Blog". 2018-03-30. Retrieved 2018-05-08.
- ↑ "Elixir". José Valim. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
- ↑ "Introducing new open-source tools for the Elixir community". Retrieved 2016-08-01.
- ↑ "Unlocking New Features in Moz Pro with a Database-Free Architecture". Retrieved 2016-08-01.
- ↑ "What big projects use Elixir?". Retrieved 2016-08-01.
- ↑ "Elixir in production interview: Garth Hitchens". Retrieved 2016-08-01.
- ↑ "Nerves - Craft and deploy bulletproof embedded software in Elixir". Retrieved 2016-08-01.
- ↑ "ElixirConf". Retrieved 2018-07-11.
- ↑ "ElixirConf". Retrieved 2018-07-11.
- ↑ "ElixirConf.jp". Retrieved 2018-07-11.
- ↑ "Elixir LDN". Retrieved 2018-07-12.
- ↑ "EMPEX - Empire State Elixir Conference". Retrieved 2018-07-12.
- ↑ "Elixir: A Mini-Documentary". Retrieved 2018-07-12.
- ↑ Elixir - A modern approach to programming for the Erlang VM. Retrieved 2013-02-17.
- ↑ José Valim - ElixirConf EU 2017 Keynote. Retrieved 2017-07-14.
- 1 2 3 4 5 6 "Elixir". Retrieved 2014-09-07.
- ↑ Loder, Wolfgang (12 May 2015). Erlang and Elixir for Imperative Programmers. "Chapter 16: Code Structuring Concepts", section title "Actor Model": Leanpub. Retrieved 7 July 2015.
- ↑ "Writing assertive code with Elixir". Retrieved 2018-07-05.
External links
- Elixir language website
- Code on GitHub
- Elixir - A modern approach to programming for the Erlang VM (video presentation)
- Dave Thomas: "Programming Elixir ≥ 1.6 Functional |> Concurrent |> Pragmatic |> Fun" (book)
- Simon St. Laurent, J. David Eisenberg: "Introducing Elixir" (book)
- Chris McCord: "Metaprogramming Elixir " (book)