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Crystal (programming language) VS Clojure

Compare Crystal (programming language) VS Clojure and see what are their differences

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Crystal (programming language) logo Crystal (programming language)

Programming language with Ruby-like syntax that compiles to efficient native code.

Clojure logo Clojure

Clojure is a dynamic, general-purpose programming language, combining the approachability and interactive development of a scripting language with an efficient and robust infrastructure for multithreaded programming.
  • Crystal (programming language) Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-01-26
  • Clojure Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-19

We recommend LibHunt Clojure for discovery and comparisons of trending Clojure projects.

Crystal (programming language) features and specs

  • Performance
    Crystal is designed to have the performance of C, thanks to its compilation to efficient native code. Its static type system and low-level memory management capabilities allow optimized execution.
  • Syntax
    Crystal offers a syntax that is heavily inspired by Ruby, making it intuitive and familiar for Ruby developers. This can significantly reduce the learning curve and improve developer productivity.
  • Type Inference
    Crystal provides powerful type inference, enabling developers to write less boilerplate code while still benefiting from the safety and performance of a statically-typed language.
  • Concurrency
    Crystal supports lightweight concurrency with fibers, which allows developers to write efficient and scalable concurrent programs with a simpler syntax compared to traditional threading models.
  • Community and Ecosystem
    Crystal has an active and growing community. It also boasts a rich ecosystem with libraries and tools, making it easier for developers to find resources and support.

Possible disadvantages of Crystal (programming language)

  • Maturity
    Crystal is still a relatively young language compared to more established languages like Python or Java. This can mean fewer resources, libraries, and tools, as well as potential instability in certain areas.
  • Compilation Time
    Crystal's compilation times can be slower compared to interpreted languages, particularly for larger codebases. This can impact development workflows and iteration speed.
  • Binary Size
    Compiled Crystal programs tend to generate larger binary sizes compared to other compiled languages like Go or Rust. This can be a consideration for resource-constrained environments.
  • Platform Support
    Being less mature, Crystal may have fewer options for platform-specific optimizations and integrations, which could limit its use in certain specialized applications.
  • Tooling
    Although the situation is improving, Crystal's tooling ecosystem is not as mature as those of older languages. This can affect the availability and quality of IDE support, debugging tools, and other development aids.

Clojure features and specs

  • Functional Programming Paradigm
    Clojure emphasizes immutability and first-class functions, which can lead to more predictable and maintainable code.
  • Interoperability with Java
    Clojure runs on the JVM, allowing seamless integration with the vast ecosystem of Java libraries and tools.
  • REPL Driven Development
    Clojure's Read-Eval-Print Loop (REPL) allows for interactive programming, making it easier to test and debug code in real time.
  • Concise Syntax
    Clojure's syntax is minimalistic and expressive, which can lead to more concise and readable code.
  • Concurrency Support
    Clojure provides strong support for concurrent programming with features like Software Transactional Memory (STM) and immutable data structures.

Possible disadvantages of Clojure

  • Steep Learning Curve
    The functional programming paradigm and Lisp-like syntax can be challenging for newcomers, particularly those from imperative programming backgrounds.
  • Performance Overhead
    Clojure's emphasis on immutability can introduce performance overhead compared to languages that use mutable data structures.
  • Limited Tooling
    While improving, the ecosystem for Clojure is not as mature as for some other mainstream languages, which can pose challenges in finding robust development and debugging tools.
  • Less Mainstream
    Clojure is not as commonly used as languages like Python or Java, which can make it harder to find experienced developers or community support.
  • Verbose Error Messages
    Error messages in Clojure can sometimes be verbose and difficult to understand, which can complicate the debugging process.

Crystal (programming language) videos

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Clojure videos

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What is the business value of Clojure?

More videos:

  • Review - Blog in Clojure Code Review
  • Review - Clojure Web App Code Review

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Crystal (programming language) and Clojure)

Crystal (programming language)

Clojure

Programming Language
57 57%
Programming Language
43% 43
OOP
57 57%
OOP
43% 43
Generic Programming Language
71 71%
Generic Programming Language
29% 29
Development
100 100%
Development
0% 0

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Crystal (programming language) should be more popular than Clojure. It has been mentiond 114 times since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Crystal (programming language) mentions (114)

  • Rhombus Language
    Did you ever see Crystal? It's more or less a typed Ruby. I've heard that you can port some code directly. https://crystal-lang.org/. - Source: Hacker News / about 2 months ago
  • Tiny JITs for a Faster FFI
    If you like the Ruby syntax (but want a statically typed language), you might want to take a look at Crystal: https://crystal-lang.org/ > Crystal is statically typed and type errors are caught early by the compiler, eliminating a range of type-related errors at runtime. - Source: Hacker News / 3 months ago
  • Advent of Code #1 (in Gleam)
    I really enjoyed using Crystal last year. It is a very ergonomic language with a featureful standard library. I was tempted to use it again this year, but I figured I should use this opportunity to try something new. After considering several languages including Go, F#, Nim, and Raku, I decided to go with Gleam. - Source: dev.to / 5 months ago
  • Understanding Ruby 3.3 Concurrency: A Comprehensive Guide
    Also check https://crystal-lang.org/ which aims for ruby like syntax/dx but almost native performance. - Source: Hacker News / 6 months ago
  • Crystal 1.11.0 Is Released
    I like the first code example on https://crystal-lang.org 
        # A very basic HTTP server.
    - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
View more

Clojure mentions (39)

  • Create a Server Driven CLI from your REST API
    Another project of mine Bob can be seen as an example of spec-first design. All its tooling follow that idea and its CLI inspired Climate. A lot of Bob uses Clojure a language that I cherish and who's ideas make me think better in every other place too. - Source: dev.to / 3 months ago
  • Scheming About Clojure
    Clojure is a LISP for the Java Virtual Machine (JVM). As a schemer, I wondered if I should give Clojure a go professionally. After all, I enjoy Rich Hickey's talks and even Uncle Bob is a Clojure fan. So I considered strength and weaknesses from my point of view:. - Source: dev.to / 6 months ago
  • Moving your bugs forward in time
    ‍For the rest of this post I’ll list off some more tactical examples of things that you can do towards this goal. Savvy readers will note that these are not novel ideas of my own, and in fact a lot of the things on this list are popular core features in modern languages such as Kotlin, Rust, and Clojure. Kotlin, in particular, has done an amazing job of emphasizing these best practices while still being an... - Source: dev.to / 12 months ago
  • Let's write a simple microservice in Clojure
    This article will explain how to write a simple service in Clojure. The sweet spot of making applications in Clojure is that you can expressively use an entire rich Java ecosystem. Less code, less boilerplate: it is possible to achieve more with less. In this example, I use most of the libraries from the Java world; everything else is a thin Clojure wrapper around Java libraries. - Source: dev.to / about 1 year ago
  • A new F# compiler feature: graph-based type-checking
    I have a tangential question that is related to this cool new feature. Warning: the question I ask comes from a part of my brain that is currently melted due to heavy thinking. Context: I write a fair amount of Clojure, and in Lisps the code itself is a tree. Just like this F# parallel graph type-checker. In Lisps, one would use Macros to perform compile-time computation to accomplish something like this, I think.... - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
View more

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Crystal (programming language) and Clojure, you can also consider the following products

Nim (programming language) - The Nim programming language is a concise, fast programming language that compiles to C, C++ and JavaScript.

Elixir - Dynamic, functional language designed for building scalable and maintainable applications

Go Programming Language - Go, also called golang, is a programming language initially developed at Google in 2007 by Robert...

Python - Python is a clear and powerful object-oriented programming language, comparable to Perl, Ruby, Scheme, or Java.

V (programming language) - Simple, fast, safe, compiled language for developing maintainable software.

Rust - A safe, concurrent, practical language

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