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The docs / language manual is emberassingly sparse right now. The Elm dev(s?) really need to fix the Architecture Tutorial and write a proper language handbook

The docs / language manual is emberassingly sparse right now. The Elm dev(s?) really need to fix the Architecture Tutorial and write a proper language handbook. Right now, the bad docs are pretty off-putting to someone coming to the language. It's a shame, really, because I think Elm is great.

zalmoxes 10y ago
While it's a WIP right now, Evan has been writing http://guide.elm-lang.org/ http://guide.elm-lang.org/ I wish Evan allowed others to contribute to the official documentation. Right now Elm feels more like Evan's personal project than a project that is owned by the community. Other then that, the community has done a good job of writing up documentation, and Richard Feldman is working on a proper book.
- the_duke 10y ago
  Agreed, there are some really good tutorials out there, way better then the official docs. But you need to go hunting for those, and a lot are a bit outdated, with the recent changes. I'm really rooting for Elm, I so prefer it to TypeScript and alternatives. Sadly, no time on my hands to get involved.
- justusw 10y ago
  That is the guide that helped me start, but is a long way to go until your first elm-only app. IMO the biggest weakness in the elm package ecosphere is that there is no proper solution to do url routing. While elm-lang/navigation and evancz/url-parser get you 80% there, the remaining 20% cause a lot of pain. I am very optimistic that in the coming months this situation is going to improve tremendously. If we all share more knowledge, tutorials, guides, the whole community will win!
  - EduardoBautista 10y ago
    Yes, I have not found a way to do url pasting in a way that looks clean and simple. It's the main thing keeping me from building big projects with Elm.
  - rofrol 10y ago
    Have you tried https://github.com/rgrempel/elm-route-url https://github.com/rgrempel/elm-route-url ? http://www.gizra.com/content/faithful-elm-amazing-router/ http://www.gizra.com/content/faithful-elm-amazing-router/
chickenfries 10y ago
Yeah, I tried playing with Elm several months ago, came back to try it again after 0.17, all of the docs are out of date, examples dont work... I'll be back in another few months, hope the situation improves. Also, I could totally make a case for Elm at work right now... if it had usable documentation.
- fiatjaf 10y ago
  Same case with me.
snorremd 10y ago
I think this could be one of the main challenges Elm face in terms of gaining support. I've been playing around with Elm the past week (creating a fun little web app to learn a new language) and the documentation would likely keep some developers from pursuing the language much further. What helped me was familiarity with functional programming via Clojure, and component based web apps with Om and React. I think the docs could use a chapter on functional programming and how that works in the land of ML languages, and perhaps a few walk through examples of some simple, but not overly simplistic, apps. So far though I think the language is pretty interesting, but I've yet to do anything really fancy with it.

zalmoxes 10y ago

While it's a WIP right now, Evan has been writing http://guide.elm-lang.org/ http://guide.elm-lang.org/ I wish Evan allowed others to contribute to the official documentation. Right now Elm feels more like Evan's personal project than a project that is owned by the community. Other then that, the community has done a good job of writing up documentation, and Richard Feldman is working on a proper book.

the_duke 10y ago
Agreed, there are some really good tutorials out there, way better then the official docs. But you need to go hunting for those, and a lot are a bit outdated, with the recent changes. I'm really rooting for Elm, I so prefer it to TypeScript and alternatives. Sadly, no time on my hands to get involved.
justusw 10y ago
That is the guide that helped me start, but is a long way to go until your first elm-only app. IMO the biggest weakness in the elm package ecosphere is that there is no proper solution to do url routing. While elm-lang/navigation and evancz/url-parser get you 80% there, the remaining 20% cause a lot of pain. I am very optimistic that in the coming months this situation is going to improve tremendously. If we all share more knowledge, tutorials, guides, the whole community will win!
- EduardoBautista 10y ago
  Yes, I have not found a way to do url pasting in a way that looks clean and simple. It's the main thing keeping me from building big projects with Elm.
- rofrol 10y ago
  Have you tried https://github.com/rgrempel/elm-route-url https://github.com/rgrempel/elm-route-url ? http://www.gizra.com/content/faithful-elm-amazing-router/ http://www.gizra.com/content/faithful-elm-amazing-router/

chickenfries 10y ago

Yeah, I tried playing with Elm several months ago, came back to try it again after 0.17, all of the docs are out of date, examples dont work... I'll be back in another few months, hope the situation improves. Also, I could totally make a case for Elm at work right now... if it had usable documentation.

fiatjaf 10y ago
Same case with me.

snorremd 10y ago

I think this could be one of the main challenges Elm face in terms of gaining support. I've been playing around with Elm the past week (creating a fun little web app to learn a new language) and the documentation would likely keep some developers from pursuing the language much further. What helped me was familiarity with functional programming via Clojure, and component based web apps with Om and React. I think the docs could use a chapter on functional programming and how that works in the land of ML languages, and perhaps a few walk through examples of some simple, but not overly simplistic, apps. So far though I think the language is pretty interesting, but I've yet to do anything really fancy with it.