andrenth

andrenth

Hello

I’ve done some Erlang a long time ago and now I’m returning to the platform via Elixir. One the few things syntax-wise that I feel is sub-optimal is how you call Erlang functions, i.e., :module.function(...). It just looks a bit odd to me, although I do understand why it is this way.

Wouldn’t it be cool if we could use the same transformation done in keyword lists ([{:foo => 1}] being the same as [foo: 1]) and call module:function(...) instead, just like in Erlang? :slight_smile:

Showing Posts 1 to 8

Qqwy

Qqwy

TypeCheck Core Team

I have an alternative for you:

alias :module, as: Module

Module.function(...)
yurko

yurko

Keyword lists are lists of tuples, so it’s [{:foo, 1}], [foo: 1] == [{:foo, 1}]. A bit confusing yeah, so my vote is leave it be and add no sugar, it’s not healthy :smiley:

andrenth

andrenth OP

Yeah, I should have said “inspired by” and not “the same” transformation done for keyword lists.

andrenth

andrenth OP

I have an alternative for you:

It would actually be pretty nice if all Erlang functions came wrapped in an Erl module or something.

voughtdq

voughtdq

Erlang does have quoting:

iex(53)> :merl.quote("dothing(x) -> x.")       
{:function, 1, :dothing, 1,
 [{:clause, 1, [{:atom, 1, :x}], [], [{:atom, 1, :x}]}]}

I’m not sure what the Elixir parser would do with this AST though.

hauleth

hauleth

Why and how would you do that in case of non-core modules? Like poolboy?

andrenth

andrenth OP

Well in that case you wouldn’t, of course, unless there’s something that adds the alias mentioned by @Qqwy automatically.

I still think being able to call poolboy:foo(...) instead of :poolboy.foo(...) would make erlang calls feel less second-class.

It’s not like this is super important, it’s just an idea I had that I thought would be neat.

hauleth

hauleth

The point is that the current syntax is in par with the whole rest of the language, as Foo.bar() is the same as :'Elixir.Foo'.bar() (with exception for the aliases). So adding new call syntax would mean that Foo:bar() also would became valid call. While this could simplify some things (it would provide difference between function call and map access) I think it would be too confusing, especially as foo. bar() is valid syntax and foo: bar() will not be.

— All posts loaded —

Where Next? Top

Trending in Discussions Top

budgie
A little off-topic, but I feel like people here have a good head on their shoulders. I used to be quite good at making software. Was luc...
New
juhalehtonen
There has been a thread to discuss the Stack Overflow Developer Survey on this forum every year since 2018, so here’s yet another one for...
New
axelson
Hi there! :wave: @frigidcode and I (but mostly him) have been running an Elixir Book club, we’re almost done with Designing Elixir Syste...
New
budgie
I love Elixir. It’s one of 2 programming languages I’ve ever fallen in love with. But I don’t use it anymore. Serverless was the promis...
New
jtormey
Lately I’ve been thinking about how to organize components as a LiveView application grows. One of the pain points I’ve found (for myself...
New
Null-logic-0
What IDE or editor are you using for Elixir development? Personally, I use Zed, and I really like it, but sometimes I wish there were a ...
New
type1fool
I just stumbled on a newly redesigned elixir-lang.org. :tada: It looks like @Software_Mansion did the work, and I think it is generally a...
New

Other Trending Topics Top

KristerV
Hey. Is there anyone here who creates agents in their apps? Not talking about using agents, but creating them. I’m finding it pretty diff...
New
mudasobwa
I fully migrated to my own harness from Anthropic/Gemini and I think it’s time to share it. Welcome DSH, the DeepSeek Harness, fully writ...
New
jimsynz
Beam Bots (or just BB for short) is a framework for building fault-tolerant robotics applications in Elixir using familiar OTP patterns. ...
New
ausimian
Emily is an Elixir library that runs Nx computations on Apple’s MLX. Install it as the default Nx backend and Nx, defn, Axon, Nx.Serving,...
New
kip
In 2021 I started a new library called Tempo with the objective of modelling time as a set of intervals - not as instants. In 2022 I gave...
New
OndrejValenta
(I just needed to vent somewhere and LinkedIn is full of hope, or hype, I’m not sure which exactly) AI dream has many faces, but general...
New

We're in Beta

About us Mission Statement

Options

Thread Display Mode




Thread Preview

Skip Thread Previews