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RailsConf 2017: Developer Happiness on the Front End with Elm by Kevin Yank Ruby and Rails famously prioritised developer happiness, and took the world by storm. Elm, a new language that compiles to JavaScript, proves that putting developer happiness first can produce very different results on the front end! Born out of Haskell, Elm is as unlike Ruby as programming languages get, but in this session we’ll see how its particular blend of design decisions tackles everything that’s painful about front-end development, making it an excellent choice for the curious Rubyist’s next favorite language.
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In his talk "Developer Happiness on the Front End with Elm," presented at RailsConf 2017, Kevin Yank discusses how Elm, a functional programming language that compiles to JavaScript, can enhance developer happiness in front-end development. The session highlights the emphasis on developer experience that both Ruby and Rails exhibit and compares it to Elm's unique approach with its compiler and language design. **Key Points:** - **Introduction to Developer Happiness:** Yank begins with the concept of developer happiness, citing practices in Ruby and Rails that prioritize making programming a pleasant experience. - **The Shift from JavaScript to Elm:** The speaker notes the limitations of JavaScript, particularly its growing complexity and the difficulties it presents for developers, prompting an exploration of alternatives. - **Elm's Compiler:** Elm features a 'lovable compiler' that provides extremely helpful error messages, aiding developers by clearly indicating issues and suggesting fixes. For example, the compiler can point out type mismatches with insightful feedback. - **Radical Simplicity of Elm:** Elm is designed with simplicity in mind. It has a batteries-included philosophy, which simplifies the development process by providing necessary tools packed together. This is contrasted with the complexity of the JavaScript ecosystem. - **Functional Programming Benefits:** Yank emphasizes the advantages of Elm’s strict type system and immutability, which prevent many runtime errors found in JavaScript. The language forces developers to handle different data possibilities explicitly, improving code safety. - **Practical Example:** Yank illustrates Elm's syntax by walking through a simple application where features can be added easily, showing how the compiler guides the developer step by step throughout the coding process. - **Comparison with Rails:** The talk concludes with a comparison of Elm’s approach to front-end development with Rails' back-end philosophy. Both prioritize developer needs but differ in their technical execution, with Elm focusing on static typing and simplicity. - **Integrating Elm with Rails:** Yank briefly mentions that integrating Elm with a Rails backend shares similar plumbing as integrating other JavaScript solutions, inviting further discussion in an upcoming session.
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