Choosing the right programming language for your project is probably one of the most difficult choices to make. Your tech stack will define your project for many years to come. An incorrectly chosen programming language can make your project slow and uncomfortable for an average user. In this post, we would like to discuss a language that, in our opinion, fits the majority of modern projects well. This language is Elixir. Read further to find out what key positive features it has and what the key reasons to use it for your next development project are.
Software development – illustrative photo. Image credit: Innovalabs via Pixabay, free license
Reason 1. Great concurrency and scalability.
The first reason to use Elixir as a programming language is undoubtedly its focus on concurrency and scalability. Firstly, Elixir is great at launching multiple processes simultaneously. This means that it can work with numerous customers doing a similarly large range of tasks. For example, if you have a web app that offers streaming and chat capabilities at the same time, Elixir is a strong option to consider. It can handle the simultaneous launching of code for both presented features. Secondly, Elixir is well-known for its low-weight processes. What does this mean? Its code doesn’t take up much space in RAM. As a result, it’s easy to scale projects that are written in Elixir. You can add multiple features before they become too extensive for the app. Consequently, Elixir is great for Software as a-service options on the market because it enables long-term development. The most successful web apps are being constantly upgraded. Elixir is one of the best languages for this model of long-term updating.
Reason 2. Ease and speed of programming
Another important reason to use Elixir is undoubtedly the ease of programming. The creators of Elixir looked at multiple different programming languages to create a high-quality syntax for their project. In this respect, Elixir took some of the best features from Python and Ruby: consequently, its structure is both familiar for experienced developers and, more importantly, easy-to-learn for newcomers. Due to its high-quality syntax, Elixir’s code has many major advantages. Firstly, it’s easy to read: even non-specialists can quickly start understanding what the developers want to do with this or that line of code. Secondly, it reduces development time by making many elements of code easy to write. Elixir’s code is clean and understandable; it also takes fewer lines than expected of other frameworks. All this contributes to the great maintainability of the language. With Elixir development services, the problem of relying too much on one development team is typically non-existent. A properly written Elixir code can be picked up by any specialist quickly and brought into production easily.
Reason 3. Fault-tolerant programming
Elixir is written over Erlang VM. Erlang is a programming language that heavily focuses on stability. Elixir, which uses its own VM, retains this core feature of Erlang. So, how does Elixir benefit from the core features of Erlang? In this regard, the presented language, above all, is very fault-tolerant. It uses the so-called actor model of concurrency, which, in many ways, prevents the majority of the problems modern programming languages encounter in terms of stability. The Erlang VM splits all tasks into separate groups and creates a clear hierarchy for them. It isolates processes so that the failure of one process doesn’t lead to the failure of an entire program. In this light, the projects made with Elixir become highly stable. Even if several components of them fail due to some reason, the entire app or website won’t collapse. Moreover, Elixir and Erlang VM will immediately launch processes aimed at restoring your app. In this way, you get an opportunity to create apps that work in high-stress environments with unpredictable loads.
Reason 4. Great access to libraries
Elixir is well-known for its great access to various libraries. Firstly, it has a small but dedicated community of developers who create platform-specific extensions. There are now more and more tools for adapting this language to the demands of Internet development. Secondly, and more importantly, Elixir provides you with access to the tremendous number of libraries connected to Erlang. Over the preceding years, Erlang has been battle-tested in the telecom sector. This means it has many relevant libraries. For many years, those unique extensions were available only to Erlang developers, who mostly worked in telecom. The core revolution of Elixir is that it provides access to such innovations to a wide audience. This genuinely unique library choice is perfect when your core goal is to create a project that will have to withstand significant outside pressure and maintain stability at the same time.
Core sectors in which Elixir works great
In our opinion, Elixir is notable for its great flexibility. In many ways, it’s suitable for the majority of development tasks outside high-CPU-load apps. It’s especially potent in three sectors: web development, IoT creation, and telecommunications. Firstly, we recommend Elixir for a wide range of web apps. In one way or another, Elixir is one of the best languages when you need to create an app that can withstand large amounts of outside pressure. Secondly, Elixir is a strong option to consider for the Internet of Things. IoT devices often perform vital functions for their users. As a result, any issues with their long-term functioning can be debilitating. If the software of a smart fridge fails, the user may easily lose high-value food. Elixir solves this problem by being highly fault-tolerant: situations where entire apps collapse in this framework are almost non-existent. Consequently, it’s possible for the Elixir app to be stable for months and even years of uptime. Lastly, Elixir is great for various communication projects. In this regard, it greatly benefits from Erlang features.
Conclusion
All in all, you should definitely try using Elixir for your future projects. Why? The reason is simple: it’s among the best programming languages on the market. How should you search for experts in this field? Seek companies that develop using Elixir and have multiple years of experience with creating online projects. In this respect, we can recommend Keenethics. This company has several years of experience developing web and mobile projects, using a diverse tech stack, which also includes Elixir.