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Points for the syntax and speed. However it really needs a bit of “wow” factor to take off. We’ve used it here and there in dribs and drabs but don’t see a re

Points for the syntax and speed. However it really needs a bit of “wow” factor to take off. We’ve used it here and there in dribs and drabs but don’t see a reason to use it in a new project when there is Elixir and/or Rust. Elixir brings the easy to use concurrency almost automatically. This and other features make it almost unbeatable for web and backend stuff. Rust is just as fast as crystal. Albeit harder to grok. Python was literally saved by the numerical libraries. Or there would not be real reason to keep using it. I keep one weather eye open on crystal to see how it’s doing but have seen no real reason to start a new project with it as yet. For me the syntax is not reason enough as yet. Elixir is maybe easier and functional to boot. Being object oriented in 2022 is not a good reason either. I’m an old rubyist and I wish Crystal the best. I’ve been following it since it was a gleam in the eye, But … why? And for what??

mgarciaisaia 4y ago
(Manas.Tech employee here) Back when I joined Manas.Tech and learnt about Crystal, THE wow factor for me was the way `if` constraints optional types when you check it: https://crystal-lang.org/reference/1.5/syntax_and_semantics/if_varis_a.html https://crystal-lang.org/reference/1.5/syntax_and_semantics/... That provides you the flexibility of having union types (variable may be `Thing1` or `Thing2`) for generic purposes, AND type-safetiness (is that a word?) when dealing with specific paths of your program that apply differently to some of the subtypes of the variable. I think Swift and Kotlin support (some of?) that now. It was really new for me back in the day (around 2014?). But that's from a coding point of view - not that much about niches, as you talk about.