Lua for Elixir

Recently, I had a simple Flask project, just a single Python file, and wanted to convert it to Elixir using AI. But what I got was a sprawling directory of modules and files in Elixir. Apparently, that’s just how things are done in the Elixir world. That moment made me realize why some languages catch on while others struggle. If spinning up a basic web server already feels like jumping through hoops, I can’t imagine the overhead for more complex projects.

I'm sure there are people who think Elixir/Phoenix >> , but for me it was a nightmare.

OTOH, the language is beautiful as it's macros all the way down.

Re: Lua for Elixir

#5

Post by devoutsalsa » Thu, May 15, 2025, 2:21 PM UTC

behnamoh wrote: post #4

Recently, I had a simple Flask project, just a single Python file, and wanted to convert it to Elixir using AI. But what I got was a sprawling directory of modules and files in Elixir. Apparently, that’s just how things are done in the Elixir world. That moment made me realize why some languages catch on while others struggle. If spinning up a basic web server already feels like jumping through hoops, I can’t imagine…

You can write a single file Elixir app if you want to. There's nothing preventing this. Setting up a simple web server w/ Plug is straightforward. You'll have the same problems you'd have with a non-trivial Flask app, which is that scrolling through a huge file is a pain.

Re: Lua for Elixir

#6

Post by rickcarlino » Thu, May 15, 2025, 2:22 PM UTC

We used Luerl, the underlying Lua engine, in production for years as a sandboxed scripting environment for FarmBot devices back in the day. Users could execute scripts directly on the device to control peripherals. It was a solid library and the community support was great. From an ergonomics perspective, developers preferred this approach over API calls. I am surprised more projects don’t provide a Lua scripting layer.

Re: Lua for Elixir

#7

Post by Philpax » Thu, May 15, 2025, 2:22 PM UTC

Very nice, but it is confusing to name a library for using a language the same thing as that language. I suppose this is meant to be a temporary state of affairs while Lua (the library) gets merged into Luerl, but I would have personally called it Luerl++ or such.

Re: Lua for Elixir

#8

Post by technojamin » Thu, May 15, 2025, 2:28 PM UTC

behnamoh wrote: post #4

Recently, I had a simple Flask project, just a single Python file, and wanted to convert it to Elixir using AI. But what I got was a sprawling directory of modules and files in Elixir. Apparently, that’s just how things are done in the Elixir world. That moment made me realize why some languages catch on while others struggle. If spinning up a basic web server already feels like jumping through hoops, I can’t imagine…

Here's a 22-line Elixir script that spins up a webserver: https://hexdocs.pm/plug/readme.html#hello-world-request-resp...

There's another single-file example on that page that shows how to implement routing. The reason AI probably gave you a more fleshed out project structure is because people typically default to using Phoenix (Elixir's equivalent of Rails) instead of going for something simpler like Plug.

After getting a result you didn't like with AI, did you try refining your prompt to state that you wanted a single-file structure?

Re: Lua for Elixir

#9

Post by butterNaN » Thu, May 15, 2025, 2:39 PM UTC

behnamoh wrote: post #4

Recently, I had a simple Flask project, just a single Python file, and wanted to convert it to Elixir using AI. But what I got was a sprawling directory of modules and files in Elixir. Apparently, that’s just how things are done in the Elixir world. That moment made me realize why some languages catch on while others struggle. If spinning up a basic web server already feels like jumping through hoops, I can’t imagine…

That is categorically not "how things are done" in the Elixir world. Have you considered that the Advanced Next Token Predictor may be imperfect?

Re: Lua for Elixir

#10

Post by sodapopcan » Thu, May 15, 2025, 2:42 PM UTC

behnamoh wrote: post #4

Recently, I had a simple Flask project, just a single Python file, and wanted to convert it to Elixir using AI. But what I got was a sprawling directory of modules and files in Elixir. Apparently, that’s just how things are done in the Elixir world. That moment made me realize why some languages catch on while others struggle. If spinning up a basic web server already feels like jumping through hoops, I can’t imagine…

Sigh, here we are with people taking what "AI" tells them as law. It's gonna be a fun next-few-years.