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A perfect hands-on introduction. Gleam is on the paper the "Simpler Rust". Yet very powerful. But it's so incredible hard to become relevant in the programming

A perfect hands-on introduction. Gleam is on the paper the "Simpler Rust". Yet very powerful. But it's so incredible hard to become relevant in the programming language world. As others have said: Typescript (esp. with Deno) is not that bad. Yes, error handling is miles away from Gleam, but is this enough for people to make the switch?

weinzierl 2y ago
Gleam is on the paper the "Simpler Rust" I've heard this sentiment expressed a lot, but I don't understand it. Rust is unique because it is a relatively high-level language that at the same time does constrain you in the least possible ways. It doesn't require a runtime, it has no mandatory garbage collector, it runs on a wide variety of hardware platforms and operating systems. Rust is not only suitable to write embedded software, operating systems, web applications and web frontends, it is good at each - it might not be perfect or the best in each category, but it is astonishingly good. And finally it manages to be like that, being a relatively boring language even - familiar syntax, modern features but from a research perspective nothing fancy. There will always be new languages that have their niche, but to be a "Rust, just X" it will have to be as general purpose as Rust already is.
- skywhopper 2y ago
  It’s pretty easy to understand. The syntax is similar and it uses a lot of the same patterns, but it’s a lot lighter weight. Glad you love Rust, but it is not remotely straightforward or “boring” — there’s a lot of hidden magic behind idiomatic Rust. And I wouldn’t call it “astonishingly good” for many of the use cases you mention. It can do all those things, but often not easily.
- widdershins 2y ago
  Yes, Gleam and Rust are very different in the use-cases they address, performance etc. They share superficial syntax, which is why people think they're similar. The other main similarity is a focus on sum-types and pattern matching, which people associate with Rust but is really an ML borrowing. That's really where the similarities end. I enjoy both. Rust for its performance and close-to-metalness, Gleam for its delightful simplicity. It really is a tiny language, and very tastefully designed.

weinzierl 2y ago

Gleam is on the paper the "Simpler Rust" I've heard this sentiment expressed a lot, but I don't understand it. Rust is unique because it is a relatively high-level language that at the same time does constrain you in the least possible ways. It doesn't require a runtime, it has no mandatory garbage collector, it runs on a wide variety of hardware platforms and operating systems. Rust is not only suitable to write embedded software, operating systems, web applications and web frontends, it is good at each - it might not be perfect or the best in each category, but it is astonishingly good. And finally it manages to be like that, being a relatively boring language even - familiar syntax, modern features but from a research perspective nothing fancy. There will always be new languages that have their niche, but to be a "Rust, just X" it will have to be as general purpose as Rust already is.

skywhopper 2y ago
It’s pretty easy to understand. The syntax is similar and it uses a lot of the same patterns, but it’s a lot lighter weight. Glad you love Rust, but it is not remotely straightforward or “boring” — there’s a lot of hidden magic behind idiomatic Rust. And I wouldn’t call it “astonishingly good” for many of the use cases you mention. It can do all those things, but often not easily.
widdershins 2y ago
Yes, Gleam and Rust are very different in the use-cases they address, performance etc. They share superficial syntax, which is why people think they're similar. The other main similarity is a focus on sum-types and pattern matching, which people associate with Rust but is really an ML borrowing. That's really where the similarities end. I enjoy both. Rust for its performance and close-to-metalness, Gleam for its delightful simplicity. It really is a tiny language, and very tastefully designed.