5 ms·

I didn't understand the use case. I had chatgpt try to find one, maybe dependency management(eh, I got conda for that) and parallel processing(eh, I got pool fo

I didn't understand the use case. I had chatgpt try to find one, maybe dependency management(eh, I got conda for that) and parallel processing(eh, I got pool for that). Seems like a no-brainer to go with python for the long term. Why would anyone take the time to use this?

knoebber 3y ago
two reasons: 1. you prefer functional style languages, such as elixir 2. you want to avoid `pip install` ing dependencies
OkayPhysicist 3y ago
If you already write a lot of Elixir for it's application-level superpowers, then being able to hammer out a script in a language you're fresh on is nice. Combine that with better developer ergonomics (package handing in Python is inane, for one), and it's not a bad choice. No one should be learning Elixir solely for the purpose of writing short, one-off scripts, though.
- thibaut_barrere 3y ago
  On the other hand, I find that starting to learn a language with one-off scripts is a nice gateway drug. This is how I started using Ruby initially!
freedomben 3y ago
If you know elixir, but don't know python, it seems like a no-brainer to choose language you know over language you don't. Plus the portability and dependency management of Python has traditionally been a nightmare. Elixir has great solutions to both of those problems for scripting contexts. Another case, if your code base is in Elixir, picking an unrelated different language (python) would (IMHO) be as silly a decision as picking elixir for scripts when you have a python app, and I would strongly question that person's judgment and fitness for making sustainable and maintainable technical decisions.
tikhonj 3y ago
I mean, if you value popularity more than any sort of intrinsic quality of your tools then, yeah, sure, it's a "no-brainer". But that rather strikes me as a "no-brainer" way of making decisions.
- realitythreek 3y ago
  [flagged]
tempest_ 3y ago
Futzing with pythons terrible multiprocessing is one of least favorite parts of the language.
- realitythreek 3y ago
  They’re removing the GIL in some upcoming version. But in general it wasn’t really a problem. Most people don’t actually need multiprocessing and if they did it was handled by the library they’re using anyway. Which isn’t to say the change isn’t welcome or not needed. Just that the limitation was overblown in most cases.
Jtsummers 3y ago
> Overall I would recommend scripting in whatever language you are most comfortable in that is at least reasonably comfortable for scripting. A quick script benefits from a low barrier between thought and execution. Use what makes sense for you. I find Elixir surprisingly good as a scripting language ever since the introduction of Mix.install. Because the author likes Elixir and its trivial concurrency story. But they also wrote the above: Use what you want, for them it's Elixir. Why complain about other people's preferences when they aren't actually foisting it on you?
throwawaymaths 3y ago
One time we wanted to benchmark SAAS X simultaneous uploads/downloads (versus our product), and find the bottleneck. This was like four lines of code. Try doing that in python!
tawiznowiz 3y ago
[flagged]

knoebber 3y ago

two reasons: 1. you prefer functional style languages, such as elixir 2. you want to avoid `pip install` ing dependencies

OkayPhysicist 3y ago

If you already write a lot of Elixir for it's application-level superpowers, then being able to hammer out a script in a language you're fresh on is nice. Combine that with better developer ergonomics (package handing in Python is inane, for one), and it's not a bad choice. No one should be learning Elixir solely for the purpose of writing short, one-off scripts, though.

thibaut_barrere 3y ago
On the other hand, I find that starting to learn a language with one-off scripts is a nice gateway drug. This is how I started using Ruby initially!

freedomben 3y ago

If you know elixir, but don't know python, it seems like a no-brainer to choose language you know over language you don't. Plus the portability and dependency management of Python has traditionally been a nightmare. Elixir has great solutions to both of those problems for scripting contexts. Another case, if your code base is in Elixir, picking an unrelated different language (python) would (IMHO) be as silly a decision as picking elixir for scripts when you have a python app, and I would strongly question that person's judgment and fitness for making sustainable and maintainable technical decisions.

tikhonj 3y ago

I mean, if you value popularity more than any sort of intrinsic quality of your tools then, yeah, sure, it's a "no-brainer". But that rather strikes me as a "no-brainer" way of making decisions.

realitythreek 3y ago
[flagged]

tempest_ 3y ago

Futzing with pythons terrible multiprocessing is one of least favorite parts of the language.

realitythreek 3y ago
They’re removing the GIL in some upcoming version. But in general it wasn’t really a problem. Most people don’t actually need multiprocessing and if they did it was handled by the library they’re using anyway. Which isn’t to say the change isn’t welcome or not needed. Just that the limitation was overblown in most cases.

Jtsummers 3y ago

> Overall I would recommend scripting in whatever language you are most comfortable in that is at least reasonably comfortable for scripting. A quick script benefits from a low barrier between thought and execution. Use what makes sense for you. I find Elixir surprisingly good as a scripting language ever since the introduction of Mix.install. Because the author likes Elixir and its trivial concurrency story. But they also wrote the above: Use what you want, for them it's Elixir. Why complain about other people's preferences when they aren't actually foisting it on you?

throwawaymaths 3y ago

One time we wanted to benchmark SAAS X simultaneous uploads/downloads (versus our product), and find the bottleneck. This was like four lines of code. Try doing that in python!

tawiznowiz 3y ago

[flagged]