i was not claiming the distribution code literally calls eval, just that it is functionally equivalent to a system that calls eval. you agree that it is possible to eval arbitrary code across node boundaries, yes?
i used erlang for 4 years professionally and elixir for parts of 5. i think both are good, useful languages. i just take issue with the misrepresentation of their features as something unique to erlang/elixir
advocates should talk up pattern matching, supervision trees and copy-on-write data structures imo. those are where erlang and elixir really shine. instead they overhype the distribution system, ets, the actor model and tools like dialyzer which are all bound to disappoint anyone who seriously investigates them
> i was not claiming the distribution code literally calls eval, just that it is functionally equivalent to a system that calls eval.
Not really. The distribution can only call code that exists in the other node. So while the system can be used as if it was an evaluator, it is not because of its primitives, but rather due to functionality that was built on top. If you nuke "erl_eval" out of the system, then the evaluation capabilities are gone.
I agree it is a thin line to draw but the point is that any message passing system can become an evaluator if you implement an evaluator alongside the message passing system. :)
> elixir/erlang's features that increase it's reliability on a single machine are a cost you pay not an added benefit
Agreed! Erlang/Elixir features should not be used to increase the reliability on a single machine. Rather, they can be used to make the most use of individual machines, allowing you to reduce operational complexity in some places.
i used erlang for 4 years professionally and elixir for parts of 5. i think both are good, useful languages. i just take issue with the misrepresentation of their features as something unique to erlang/elixir
advocates should talk up pattern matching, supervision trees and copy-on-write data structures imo. those are where erlang and elixir really shine. instead they overhype the distribution system, ets, the actor model and tools like dialyzer which are all bound to disappoint anyone who seriously investigates them