Elixir vs Haskell
If you want to work on web applications, real-time applications, fault-tolerant applications, embedded systems, and automation tools, you should learn Elixir.
Elixir is a dynamic, high-level, functional language for building scalable and maintainable applications.
Elixir runs on the Erlang Virtual Machine, known for creating low-latency, distributed, and fault-tolerant systems.
On the other hand, if you are interested in building system tools, compilers, blockchain platforms, web applications, cryptography applications, fintech, etc. you should learn Haskell.
Haskell is a general-purpose, purely functional programming language. It was designed for research, teaching, and industrial applications.
Comparing programming languages and choosing which one to learn or use for your next project can be tricky.
There are many factors to consider in order to choose the right programming language for the job you want to do.
Popularity, opportunities, type of projects, salaries, resources, learning curve, etc. are some of the factors that many people consider when comparing programming languages and choosing which one to learn or use.
Here are some of the comparisons and considerations you should make when choosing to learn a new programming language.
ELIXIR VS HASKELL POPULARITY
Comparing the popularity of programming languages is not an easy task because each programming language is different.
Although the usage of many programming languages may intersect, different fields and projects may require the use of different programming languages.
Plus, other programming languages have been around for a longer time than others, giving them more time to be tried and tested, so, bear that in mind.
If you want to learn a programming language solely for its popularity among developers, you should learn Haskell over Elixir.
Generally, Haskell is more popular than Elixir. As of May 2023, the TIOBE index ranks Haskell as the 36th most popular programming language while Elixir does not show up in the top 50.
According to a Stack Overflow survey of 2022, Haskell is the 29th most commonly used programming language, it is used by 2.22% of developers
On the other hand, Elixir is the 30th most commonly used programming language, it is used by 2.15% of developers according to the same survey.
It is worth noting though that Elixir is the second most loved programming language of 2022.
As of 2022, Elixir is loved by 75.46% of developers versus 24.54% of developers who dreaded it.
On the other hand, Haskell is loved by 56.44% of developers versus 43.56% of developers who dreaded it.
Ultimately, if your choice of which programming language to learn depends on popularity, you should learn Haskell.
ELIXIR VS HASKELL SALARY
Another popular criterion that many people use to compare programming languages and as an incentive to learn a new programming language is salary.
Salaries for developers differ from one company to the other and from one country to the other.
Experience is another factor that comes into play as far as salaries are concerned.
The more experience you have with a certain technology or programming language, the more likely you are of getting a higher salary.
Generally, Elixir developers get higher salaries than Haskell developers.
According to a Stack Overflow survey of top-paying programming languages, Elixir developers get an average salary of $92,959 per year.
On the other hand, Haskell developers get an average salary of $80,250 per year, about $12,700 less than Elixir developers.
So, if the salary is your major incentive for learning a language or framework, you should learn Elixir over Haskell, because you are more likely to get a higher salary as an Elixir developer than as a Haskell developer.
Also read Should web developers know Haskell
IS ELIXIR HARDER THAN HASKELL
No, Elixir is generally considered to be easier to learn than Haskell. This is because Elixir has a simpler syntax and a more forgiving type system.
Elixir has a syntax inspired by Ruby and provides a straightforward and readable code structure.
On the other hand, Haskell is known for its strong type system and advanced type inference capabilities.
It enforces pure functional programming paradigms, which can be challenging for programmers not familiar with functional concepts.
Haskell’s type system can be complex, but it offers powerful guarantees and helps catch many errors at compile-time.
The good news is that there are plenty of helpful resources for both Haskell and Elixir to help you learn the languages.
The Haskell and Elixir communities are very active and helpful, in case you get stuck with something.
ELIXIR VS HASKELL FEATURES AND APPLICATIONS
ELIXIR
Elixir runs on the Erlang VM, known for creating low-latency, distributed, and fault-tolerant systems. It is also designed to handle large data volumes.
These capabilities and Elixir tooling helps developers to be productive in several domains, such as telecommunications, web development, embedded software, data pipelines, and multimedia processing, across a wide range of industries.
To help developers build fault-tolerant systems, Elixir provides supervisors which describe how to restart parts of your system when things go wrong.
Elixir is also compatible with Erlang, this gives developers complete access to the Erlang ecosystem. An Elixir programmer can invoke any Erlang function with no runtime cost.
This helps developers to build robust applications.
Elixir is used by many companies such as Mozilla, Pinterest, Xplane, Ramp, Brex, Discord, Heroku, FarmBot, Duffel, The Outline, Slab, Pepsico, Change.org, Bleacher Report, Inverse, Moz, Divvy, PagerDuty, and many others.
Also read Should web developers know Elixir
HASKELL
Haskell is a purely functional programming language; this means that functions generally have no side effects.
Haskell’s notable features include statically typed, type inference, concurrency, lazy evaluation, pattern matching, list comprehension, etc.
These and many other features make Haskell a popular choice for industrial applications.
Haskell is used by Facebook to implement its anti-spam programs. The Cardano blockchain platform is implemented in Haskell.
The Target stores’ supply chain optimization software is also written in Haskell.
Other companies that use Haskell include GitHub, New York Times, Bluespec, Standard Chartered, Microsoft, Google, Hasura, Bitnomial, Intel, Siemens, Serokell, Foxhound Systems, Stack Builders, AT&T, Scarf, Fission, Mercury, and many others.
SHOULD I LEARN ELIXIR OR HASKELL
Once you have compared the languages and evaluated all the factors, you can choose which programming language to learn or use depending on the factors that are on your side and what you want to build.
If you want to work on web applications, real-time applications, fault-tolerant applications, embedded systems, automation tools, and potentially fetch a higher salary, you should learn Elixir over Haskell.
If you want to work on building system tools, compilers, blockchain platforms, web applications, cryptography applications, fintech, etc. you should learn Haskell over Elixir.
