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It's probably a little multifaceted. I'm a fan of Ruby but even Ruby develops warts with a code base that's too large. I was just about ready to exit programmi

It's probably a little multifaceted. I'm a fan of Ruby but even Ruby develops warts with a code base that's too large. I was just about ready to exit programming entirely before I discovered Elixir, just because I got tired of dealing with the...exact...same...problems...in...every...single...dang...language. Elixir essentially forces you into a mode of operation that hits that perfect balance of productivity and concise code with a structure that inherently avoids almost every long term code base problem that I've dealt with in my career. It got me excited about programming again, which I didn't think was possible that far into my career.

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vinceguidry 8y ago
One of the things that made the article so interesting was that the author would try to find salvation in a solo side project, only to find himself right back in the same hell. I've been through this same problem, even with Ruby. What I ultimately had to realize is that you have to just get really really familiar with Ruby before you can get a taste for its superpowers. I don't think it has all that much to do with languages / stacks, though I do think it matters to a certain extent. I personally don't mind seeing warts in a Ruby codebase, because it means I'm at least working with Ruby. I've been violently dragged kicking and screaming away from Ruby more times than I ever want to see in my career.
- jasim 8y ago
  I'm pretty comfortable with Ruby and have been programming in it for over 5 years now. But for any new project from now on I'd try to use a Typed Functional language - Reason/OCaml, Haskell etc. I used to argue strongly against types and functional programming, but that was before I actually knew the paradigm at all. I wonder if you have tried building anything non-trivial in a Typed Functional language, or even a different paradigm like logic programming. If you have and are not convinced, that'd be a great discussion to have. If you haven't, then based on my own experience, I think you might shift your opinions after spending a year or so with it.
ams6110 8y ago
Erlang did that for me. I've looked at Elixir, but never used it in a project.

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vinceguidry 8y ago

One of the things that made the article so interesting was that the author would try to find salvation in a solo side project, only to find himself right back in the same hell. I've been through this same problem, even with Ruby. What I ultimately had to realize is that you have to just get really really familiar with Ruby before you can get a taste for its superpowers. I don't think it has all that much to do with languages / stacks, though I do think it matters to a certain extent. I personally don't mind seeing warts in a Ruby codebase, because it means I'm at least working with Ruby. I've been violently dragged kicking and screaming away from Ruby more times than I ever want to see in my career.

jasim 8y ago
I'm pretty comfortable with Ruby and have been programming in it for over 5 years now. But for any new project from now on I'd try to use a Typed Functional language - Reason/OCaml, Haskell etc. I used to argue strongly against types and functional programming, but that was before I actually knew the paradigm at all. I wonder if you have tried building anything non-trivial in a Typed Functional language, or even a different paradigm like logic programming. If you have and are not convinced, that'd be a great discussion to have. If you haven't, then based on my own experience, I think you might shift your opinions after spending a year or so with it.

ams6110 8y ago

Erlang did that for me. I've looked at Elixir, but never used it in a project.