BabaykaBo
Hi. I am new in Elixir. I have got to know about two file extensions for Elixir - .ex and .exs. Documentation says:
" …In addition to the Elixir file extension .ex , Elixir also supports .exs files for scripting. Elixir treats both files exactly the same way, the only difference is in intention. .ex files are meant to be compiled while .exs files are used for scripting…"
I created two files (math.ex and math.exs) with the same code:
"
defmodule Math do
def sum(a, b) do
a + b
end
end
IO.puts Math.sum(1, 2)
"
I used commands elixir and elixirc on both files, but I have received the same results:
- command
elixirccreated filesElixir.Math.beam; - command
elixirshows result in cmd;
So, I want to know if real difference between these extensions exists.
Where Next?
Trending in Questions
Other Trending Topics
Latest on Elixir Forum
Sponsor Spotlight
Practical resources that improve the lives of professional developers.
Categories:
Sub Categories:
Forums
Popular Tags
- #ecto
- #liveview
- #troubleshooting
- #learning-elixir
- #library
- #deployment
- #erlang
- #testing
- #genserver
- #mix
- #absinthe
- #remote-other
- #otp
- #plug
- #how-to-question
- #macros
- #postgres
- #elixirconf
- #channels
- #exunit
- #discussion
- #code-sync
- #podcasts
- #javascript
- #onsite
- #dialyzer
- #docker
- #authentication
- #umbrella
- #full-time-contract
- #ai
- #podcasts-by-brainlid
- #ecto-query
- #blog-post
- #elixirconf-us
- #elixir-ls
- #phoenix_html
- #iex
- #graphql
- #genstage
- #websockets
- #supervisor
- #advent-of-code
- #distillery
- #processes
- #elixirconf-eu
- #api
- #forms
- #security
- #metaprogramming
Our Sponsors
Supporting innovation across the BEAM ecosystem.
We build reliable cloud platforms for business-critical systems.
Catch errors, track performance, monitor hosts and more.
Error tracking, logs, uptime, and Just Enough APM. Built for developers.
Elixir, Erlang & BEAM conferences from Code Sync - join us in 2026!
Practical resources that improve the lives of professional developers.
**Building the future of software with AI, trust, and human connection.**
The deployment platform built for Elixir: PaaS ease, VPS control.
The team behind Membrane, Popcorn, LiveDebugger. Available for hire.
Courses that'll move you from confusion to "Aha, now I get it!"
Showing Posts 1 to 3- Show Best Posts
- Show All (oldest first)
- Show All (newest first)
anuaralfetahe
.exfiles compile down to beam files, which can be executed later, while.exsis compiled into memory and executed on the fly..exhas better runtime performance and it’s easier to include and load other files.When I’m writing Elixir library or application my source code is written in
.exfiles.I use
.exsfor commands, scripts, config files, test or anything else that is short lived. These files don’t have be precompiled and you can just runelixiron them.LostKobrakai
Just to make this clear. The runtime characteristics of the code do not change.
What is different is that loading/including .exs files requires additional compilation, while .beam files don‘t need that. That „performance“ difference affects only initial loading though.
BabaykaBo
Thank for your answer. Now it is more clear for me, but it is a bit weird, that I make ‘elixirc math.exs’ and also get beam file (on my opinion
)