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Should I learn Erlang or Haskell?
Erlang has a lot of tools for troubleshooting problems, but Haskell is better at giving
you tools to do it right the first time.
Haskell has Hackage, AKA the framework's batteries. I've heard that makes it easier to work with.
Erlang is not your friend if you want to make nice graphic user interfaces and user apps.
However, it works fine for a lot of server applications.
Erlang is scalable and runs well on multiple processes without explicit locking. Erlang
is the clear winner if you are doing distributed computing.
Erlang isn't intended for purely functional programming.
I thought all programming was intended to be functional.
You hope that everything you code functions when you run it. All programs you're paid
for ought to work.
They say that in Haskel, if it typechecks, it is probably correct.
Haskell has a one pass garbage collector to clean up code. And in Haskell, if the code
compiles, the code is probably correct.
It sounds like Haskell is idiot-proof.
It is more idiot-resistant. If you make something idiot proof, new types of idiocy will evolve.
Which language should I learn to benefit my career?
Fewer people think that Erlang will be around in 20 years. Haskell has a larger user community
and is considered more of a mainstream programming language.
You're not a fan of Erlang.
Erlang's syntax is more annoying; the code is more verbose and time consuming to create.
And if Erlang can't do a task you need, you'll need to know Python or Javascript to do the
work.
Haskell's type system means it is dynamically typed. Some programmers are wary of that.
Erlang's database drivers list are incomplete or unmaintained. It's rather silly to write
server side code and uncertain if your program can access the database.
I knew Erlang doesn't have a real string type yet.
Haskell is better at supporting code reuse, and the code is considered easier to maintain.
It sounds like Haskell is the better choice if you're looking for something other than
an esoteric programming hobby.