GitHub implementing Erlang git-daemon (opens in new tab)

(github.com)

33 pointspjackson17y ago16 comments

16 comments

7 comments · 1 top-level

wmf17y ago· 6 in thread

The two benefits mentioned sound like they have nothing to do with Erlang.

I'm the dev at GitHub that's working on egitd. It's true that those two features are not Erlang specific. They could be accomplished in any language. However, Erlang lets me write very robust servers with tiny amounts of code. The automatic SMP support is also a huge plus when dealing with concurrency.

pjacksonOP17y ago

Aha. My guess was close.

ambition17y ago

Erlang is the new cool thing. There's a marketing benefit to writing programs in a cool new language, especially in github's early market: People who jumped on the git bandwagon because it was the new cool thing.

pjacksonOP17y ago

I like the new features, but I also don't understand the Erlang connection. I think the sentiment is right that it's "cool and new" and should therefore be embraced by geeks.

If it helps them distribute their application more in a more scalable way, or in a more stable way, I'd love to understand how.

My "guess", knowing little about Erlang, is that the server code is simpler....

jrockway17y ago

But it's much more fun to completely rewrite the application in a new language, rather than just submit a patch to the existing daemon! Don't you know that you can't perform "flexible filesystem mappings" in C? cough

mojombo17y ago

It's not about that at all. I'm more familiar with Erlang than C, and the git source is a twisty jungle of advanced C code. I could have patched git-daemon, but to have a project that I can easily understand, maintain, and improve, I chose to write my own in Erlang. My tests show the Erlang and C git servers to be very similar in performance, so that's not a concern. And I can guarantee that egitd has far fewer lines of code!

I don't choose languages because they're cool or trendy. I choose them because they make it easier to Get Things Done. And for a startup, that's an unmistakable benefit.

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16 comments

7 comments · 1 top-level

wmf17y ago· 6 in thread

The two benefits mentioned sound like they have nothing to do with Erlang.

mojombo17y ago

pjacksonOP17y ago

Aha. My guess was close.

ambition17y ago

pjacksonOP17y ago

I like the new features, but I also don't understand the Erlang connection. I think the sentiment is right that it's "cool and new" and should therefore be embraced by geeks.

If it helps them distribute their application more in a more scalable way, or in a more stable way, I'd love to understand how.

My "guess", knowing little about Erlang, is that the server code is simpler....

jrockway17y ago

mojombo17y ago

I don't choose languages because they're cool or trendy. I choose them because they make it easier to Get Things Done. And for a startup, that's an unmistakable benefit.

1 more reply

j / k navigate · click thread line to collapse