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Write Elixir code using Elm-like syntax (elm-make compatible)

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Quick install

npm install -g elchemy

What is it?

Elchemy lets you write simple, fast and quality type safe code while leveraging both the Elm's safety and Elixir's ecosystem

CAVEAT: Web version does not do any type checking. It only parses syntax. For full type and syntax checking run the CLI version

In case of any questions about the project feel free to submit them in Issues with Q&A label

Features

  • Type inference: Powerful type inference means you rarely have to annotate types. Everything gets checked for you by the compiler
  • Easy and type-safe interop: You can call Elixir/Erlang without any extra boiler-plate. All the calls you make are checked in terms of type-safety as thoroughly as possible
  • All the best of Elm and Elixir: Elchemy inherits what's best in Elm - type safety, inference and extreme expressiveness, but also what's best in Elixir - Doc-tests, tooling and obviously the entire BEAM platform.
  • Nearly No runtime errors - Elchemy's type system eliminates almost all runtime errors. With a shrinking set of edge cases, your entire app will be as safe as the parts written in Elixir are.
  • Beatiful and fully readable output - All of the code produced by Elchemy can be easily read and analyzed without taking a single look at the source code

Patch Notes:

v0.5

  • Numerous output code quality and performance improvements
  • Functions can be shadowed (Elm behaviour over Elixir's behaviour)
  • Support for Elixir 1.5
  • Elchemy can compile itself without any parsing or compiling errors. (2 out of 3 steps complete)

v0.4

  • New name Elchemy (without 'm')
    • New repository and std lib name
    • New compile tools commands (All commands can be still called with an old name and it will be supported for next couple of versions)

v0.3

  • Native modules
  • Imported types and type aliases
  • Type polimorhpism
  • Advanced syntax and bugfixes

Usage

Prerequisites

Installation in Elixir project

Install elchemy globally with

npm install -g elchemy

Then in root of your project do:

elchemy init

And follow the instructions

elchemy will find all *.elm files specified in elchemy_path and compile it into corresponding *.ex files in lib directory.

You can override output directory specifing elixirc_paths.

Instalation as a standalone

npm install -g elchemy

Usage

elchemy compile source_dir output_dir

Build from source

git clone https://github.com/wende/elchemy.git
cd elchemy
make compile
./elchemy compile source_dir output_dir

and

make dev

To launch and test the web demo

Contributing Guide

Targeted values:

  • Fully readable and indented elixir code generated from compilation
  • Seamless and stressless interop with existing Elixir code, preferably with magically working type safety
  • Full integration with entire elm syntax for editors and compilers magic

Troubleshooting

If anything doesn't work, try

npm install -g elchemy
elchemy clean
elchemy init
mix test

first

FAQ

Why would I want to use that

  • You like types
  • But even more you prefer compile-time errors over run-time error
  • You prefer add b c = b + c over defp add(a, b), do: b + c
  • You like curry
  • You think failing fast is cool, but not as cool as not failing at all

Why wouldn't I want to use that

  • Your project relies on die-hard battle tested libraries, and you despise any versions starting with 0
  • You're afraid that when you learn what Monad is your mustache will grow, and eyesight weaken

Can I use it in already existing Elixir project

You can, but nice and dandy compile tools are still on their way

Will my employer notice I'm having an affair with Elchemy?

The output files of Elchemy treat the code readability as a first class citizen. The code is meant to be properly indented, the comments aren't omitted, and the code is optimized as hard as it can ( f.i case clauses reduce to function overloads)

When will Elchemy become 1.0.0?

When it's done

Can I contribute?

Definitely. Yes. Please do.

How are types represented?

You're a nosy one, aren't you? Elchemy represents all type constructors as snake cased atoms, and all type applications as tuples. Which means that MyType 42 "Fourty two" Error in Elchemy equals to {:my_type, 42, "Fourty Two", :error} in Elixir.

Can I use already existing Elm libraries with Elchemy.

As long as they don't use any Native modules, Ports or Elm runtime they can be safely imported and used

Can I use already existing Elixir libraries with Elchemy

Yes. You can do an ffi call to any function in any module. Whether it's Elixir module, Erlang module, or even a macro you can include it in your code. Ffi calls are a treated specially in Elchemy and they get generated test to analyze the types based on @specs, so that you don't compromise type safety for using Elixir code. In order to increase readbility it's advised no to use ffi calls if not necessary and always document and doctest them.

But what about out of function macros? Like tests and use Module?

Unfortunatelly you can't write any macros with do..end blocks yet. You can write any out of function code using an elixir inline code with:

{- ex
  code_here
-}

But it's a last resort solution and shouldn't ever be abused.

Can I define an Elixir macro in Elchemy.

So you want to write an Elm-like code, that will manipulate Elixir code, which generates an Elixir code that manipulates Elixir code? How about no?

Do I need to have Elm installed to compile my .elm files with Elchemy.

Elchemy uses Elm to typecheck your program. Although it is possible to use it without Elm on your machine it's not advised.

Progress of the project

  • Parser - 98% of Elm's syntax
  • Compiler - 97% (still needs some nicer solutions of code generation plus we might come out with some new nice ideas)
  • Elchemy-core - 93 ( We have Basics, Debug, Char, String, List, Result, Tuple, Set, Bitwise, Dict and Maybe)
  • Interop with Elixir - 90% - All of the interop is mature and type-safe-verified based on specs
  • Ideology - 60% - We've got a pretty solid idea of where Elchemy is going
  • Documentation - 50% - There's couple of tutorials online and example projects. Nothing fancy yet, though
  • Elchemy-effects - 15% - You can't and shouldn't write anything with side-effects in Elchemy yet. We're working on finding the best solution for effects that would fit both Elm's and Elixir's community
  • Elchemy-core for Erlang VM - 5% (Everything for os related tasks like filesystem, OTP goodies etc has to be done)

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