6 ms·

Erlang Installer Beta: A Better Way To Use Erlang On OS X

68 points by _nato_ 10y ago

Luc 10y ago
Interesting, I'll try it out. On Linux I used the 'kerl' script to easily switch between installations: https://github.com/kerl/kerl https://github.com/kerl/kerl Seems like it works on OS X too: http://stratus3d.com/blog/2014/10/24/install-erlang-16-on-mac-osx-10-dot-9-with-kerl/ http://stratus3d.com/blog/2014/10/24/install-erlang-16-on-ma...
- paultannenbaum 10y ago
  I use Kerl on OSX and have had zero issues with it switching between different Erlang versions. I haven't evaluated other options, but can confirm Kerl works on a mac.
  - macintux 10y ago
    Yep, I rely heavily on kerl on macOS (will take a while to get used to that name). Great tool. A similar tool, written by a former co-worker of mine: https://github.com/metadave/erln8 https://github.com/metadave/erln8
matt4077 10y ago
I think I'll stick with `brew upgrade` or, more accurately, brew update brew upgrade npm -g upgrade for f in ~/projects/*; do cd $f npm update --save npm update --save-dev mix deps.update --all elm-packages update bundle update npm test mix test rake test done
- guessmyname 10y ago
  # I fixed the script for you: [...] for f in $(ls -1d ~/projects/**/); do cd -- "$f" [...] done
  - Jtsummers 10y ago
    [...] pushd . for [...] popd I'm always a fan of ending up back where I started.
    - thomaslee 10y ago
      Piling on the nitpick train :) If an error occurs along the way popd won't run, so a subshell might be a better way to accomplish the same thing: ( for ...; do cd ... done ) # script exits, you're back where you started If you'd prefer to see it in isolation: pwd; ( cd /tmp; pwd ); pwd
electic 10y ago
I like the idea however another menu bar item seems to be the wrong way to go about doing this. Why is brew a bad idea?
- bogomipz 10y ago
  I had the same question and concern. I see its available via brew.
- adamkittelson 10y ago
  Homebrew sometimes takes a while to get new erlang releases available. I seem to recall a release about a year ago that took over a month to become available. Something about other apps in homebrew that use erlang having to update before the homebrew erlang could be released, or something like that, I don't recall the details. At any rate I've been using asdf https://github.com/asdf-vm/asdf https://github.com/asdf-vm/asdf to manage my erlang and elixir installs on a per project basis for a while now and it has been working well for me.
  - s_kilk 10y ago
    If I recall correctly, Erlang 19 was held up for a while in homebrww because the couchdb formula needed to be updated also.
tomku 10y ago
In order to use erl/erlc from the command line, would I have to launch an "Erlang Terminal" from the menu bar or is there a convenient way to get the current default Erlang's bin folder on my path? Edit: I mostly work with Elixir and have Erlang installed via Homebrew right now.
nixpulvis 10y ago
I prefer something akin to the `rustup` CLI to a native app personally.
- marianoguerra 10y ago
  check kerl: https://github.com/kerl/kerl https://github.com/kerl/kerl
shadeless 10y ago
A couple of months ago I stoped using rvm, kerl, exenv, nvm and started using asdf - "Extendable version manager with support for Ruby, Node.js, Elixir, Erlang & more". I've been pretty satisfied with it, and haven't had a single problem with it yet - it just works (™). I recommend trying it out, relevant links: https://github.com/asdf-vm/asdf https://github.com/asdf-vm/asdf https://github.com/asdf-vm/asdf-erlang https://github.com/asdf-vm/asdf-erlang
- Bluestrike2 10y ago
  That's funny. I was just talking to somebody about all the different version managers we wind up dealing with. I'll have to look at it more later.
TheAceOfHearts 10y ago
I'm a big fan of this. An example of a similar tool that I love is Postgres.app [0]. Compare using Postgres.app with having to install and configure MySQL... It makes a world of difference when you're first learning how to use these tools. The killer feature of these installer options is that they make the tools much for approachable for everyone! Configuring and setting up a bunch of tools that you don't understand makes it very hard to get your feet wet. I think once you're familiarized with the tools it's important to learn how things work. But if you're just getting started, there's no reason for you to waste your time configuring anything. The default config should be beginner friendly and provide sensible defaults. [0] http://postgresapp.com/ http://postgresapp.com/
angrow 10y ago
It's good to see language communities/committees taking steps to improve UX. That said, since we're all using this to announce our idiosyncratic package managers, I use Nix.

68 points by _nato_ 10y ago

Luc 10y ago

Interesting, I'll try it out. On Linux I used the 'kerl' script to easily switch between installations: https://github.com/kerl/kerl https://github.com/kerl/kerl Seems like it works on OS X too: http://stratus3d.com/blog/2014/10/24/install-erlang-16-on-mac-osx-10-dot-9-with-kerl/ http://stratus3d.com/blog/2014/10/24/install-erlang-16-on-ma...

paultannenbaum 10y ago
I use Kerl on OSX and have had zero issues with it switching between different Erlang versions. I haven't evaluated other options, but can confirm Kerl works on a mac.
- macintux 10y ago
  Yep, I rely heavily on kerl on macOS (will take a while to get used to that name). Great tool. A similar tool, written by a former co-worker of mine: https://github.com/metadave/erln8 https://github.com/metadave/erln8

matt4077 10y ago

I think I'll stick with `brew upgrade` or, more accurately, brew update brew upgrade npm -g upgrade for f in ~/projects/*; do cd $f npm update --save npm update --save-dev mix deps.update --all elm-packages update bundle update npm test mix test rake test done

guessmyname 10y ago
# I fixed the script for you: [...] for f in $(ls -1d ~/projects/**/); do cd -- "$f" [...] done
- Jtsummers 10y ago
  [...] pushd . for [...] popd I'm always a fan of ending up back where I started.
  - thomaslee 10y ago
    Piling on the nitpick train :) If an error occurs along the way popd won't run, so a subshell might be a better way to accomplish the same thing: ( for ...; do cd ... done ) # script exits, you're back where you started If you'd prefer to see it in isolation: pwd; ( cd /tmp; pwd ); pwd

electic 10y ago

I like the idea however another menu bar item seems to be the wrong way to go about doing this. Why is brew a bad idea?

bogomipz 10y ago
I had the same question and concern. I see its available via brew.
adamkittelson 10y ago
Homebrew sometimes takes a while to get new erlang releases available. I seem to recall a release about a year ago that took over a month to become available. Something about other apps in homebrew that use erlang having to update before the homebrew erlang could be released, or something like that, I don't recall the details. At any rate I've been using asdf https://github.com/asdf-vm/asdf https://github.com/asdf-vm/asdf to manage my erlang and elixir installs on a per project basis for a while now and it has been working well for me.
- s_kilk 10y ago
  If I recall correctly, Erlang 19 was held up for a while in homebrww because the couchdb formula needed to be updated also.

tomku 10y ago

In order to use erl/erlc from the command line, would I have to launch an "Erlang Terminal" from the menu bar or is there a convenient way to get the current default Erlang's bin folder on my path? Edit: I mostly work with Elixir and have Erlang installed via Homebrew right now.

nixpulvis 10y ago

I prefer something akin to the `rustup` CLI to a native app personally.

marianoguerra 10y ago
check kerl: https://github.com/kerl/kerl https://github.com/kerl/kerl

shadeless 10y ago

A couple of months ago I stoped using rvm, kerl, exenv, nvm and started using asdf - "Extendable version manager with support for Ruby, Node.js, Elixir, Erlang & more". I've been pretty satisfied with it, and haven't had a single problem with it yet - it just works (™). I recommend trying it out, relevant links: https://github.com/asdf-vm/asdf https://github.com/asdf-vm/asdf https://github.com/asdf-vm/asdf-erlang https://github.com/asdf-vm/asdf-erlang

Bluestrike2 10y ago
That's funny. I was just talking to somebody about all the different version managers we wind up dealing with. I'll have to look at it more later.

TheAceOfHearts 10y ago

I'm a big fan of this. An example of a similar tool that I love is Postgres.app [0]. Compare using Postgres.app with having to install and configure MySQL... It makes a world of difference when you're first learning how to use these tools. The killer feature of these installer options is that they make the tools much for approachable for everyone! Configuring and setting up a bunch of tools that you don't understand makes it very hard to get your feet wet. I think once you're familiarized with the tools it's important to learn how things work. But if you're just getting started, there's no reason for you to waste your time configuring anything. The default config should be beginner friendly and provide sensible defaults. [0] http://postgresapp.com/ http://postgresapp.com/

angrow 10y ago

It's good to see language communities/committees taking steps to improve UX. That said, since we're all using this to announce our idiosyncratic package managers, I use Nix.