Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Elm VS Scala.js

Compare Elm VS Scala.js and see what are their differences

Note: These products don't have any matching categories. If you think this is a mistake, please edit the details of one of the products and suggest appropriate categories.

Elm logo Elm

A type inferred, functional reactive language that compiles to HTML, CSS, and JavaScript

Scala.js logo Scala.js

Build robust front-end web applications in Scala with Scala.js
  • Elm Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-09-23

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

  • Scala.js Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-06-23

Elm features and specs

  • Strong Type System
    Elm's type system is designed to catch errors at compile-time, reducing runtime errors and improving code reliability. It emphasizes immutability, making it easier to reason about and maintain code.
  • No Runtime Exceptions
    Elm enforces safety with its type system, ensuring that runtime exceptions are almost impossible. This leads to more robust and predictable applications.
  • Friendly Error Messages
    Elm's compiler provides exceptionally helpful and user-friendly error messages, which make debugging easier and learning the language more approachable.
  • Optimized Performance
    Elm's compiler generates highly optimized JavaScript, resulting in fast and efficient applications. Performance tuning is handled by the compiler, freeing developers from many optimization concerns.
  • Functional Programming
    Elm is purely functional, promoting a clear and declarative coding style. It encourages developers to write more predictable and maintainable code by leveraging functional programming principles.
  • Built-In Architecture
    The Elm Architecture (Model-Update-View) provides a consistent pattern for building applications, which can simplify the development process and improve code organization.
  • Interoperability with JavaScript
    Elm allows you to seamlessly integrate with existing JavaScript code through ports, giving you the flexibility to gradually adopt Elm or work with libraries that are not available in Elm.

Possible disadvantages of Elm

  • Small Ecosystem
    Elm's ecosystem is relatively small compared to more established languages like JavaScript or TypeScript, meaning there are fewer libraries and tools available, which might limit certain functionalities out of the box.
  • Learning Curve
    Elm’s functional programming paradigm and strict type system can be challenging for developers who are not familiar with functional programming, leading to a steep learning curve.
  • Limited Developer Community
    The Elm community is smaller compared to other languages, which can make finding support or example projects more difficult. This might also affect the availability of tutorials and learning resources.
  • Interoperability Overhead
    While interoperability with JavaScript is possible through ports, it introduces additional complexity and overhead, making integrated projects more challenging to manage.
  • Slower Release Cycle
    Elm's development and release cycle can be slower compared to other technologies. Updates and new features might take longer to be released, impacting the adoption of cutting-edge practices.
  • Single File Approach
    In Elm, managing large codebases can be problematic due to the lack of support for splitting code into multiple modules or files akin to solutions in other languages, which can make the code less modular and harder to navigate.

Scala.js features and specs

  • Strong Type System
    Scala.js brings Scala’s powerful type system to JavaScript development, reducing runtime errors and enhancing code reliability and safety.
  • Interoperability with JavaScript
    Seamlessly interoperates with JavaScript libraries and frameworks, allowing developers to utilize existing JavaScript tools and APIs.
  • Code Reusability
    Facilitates code sharing between server and client-side codebases when using Scala on both ends, increasing productivity and maintainability.
  • Functional Programming
    Supports functional programming paradigms which can lead to more concise and expressive code compared to traditional JavaScript.
  • Ecosystem
    Access to a wide range of Scala libraries thanks to the ability to use JVM-based libraries, enhanced by the 'Scala.js-specific libraries'.

Possible disadvantages of Scala.js

  • Build Complexity
    Requires a more complex build setup compared to vanilla JavaScript projects, introducing a learning curve for new developers.
  • Performance Overhead
    The additional abstraction layer can sometimes result in performance overhead when compared to native JavaScript.
  • Community and Support
    Smaller community compared to JavaScript, which can result in fewer resources, tutorials, and community support for problem-solving.
  • Learning Curve
    Developers need to learn Scala, which might be difficult for those not familiar with functional programming and type safety concepts.
  • Tooling Limitations
    Though improving, tooling support, especially for debugging in a pure Scala.js environment, might not be as robust as native JavaScript tools.

Elm videos

Nightmare on Elm St (series review)

More videos:

  • Review - A Nightmare on Elm Street (1984) - Movie Review
  • Review - A Nightmare on Elm Street 4: The Dream Master - Movie Review

Scala.js videos

Deriving the Frontend — Form Combinator Fun with Scala.js

More videos:

  • Review - Laminar – Smooth UI Development with Scala.js

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Elm and Scala.js)
Programming Language
100 100%
0% 0
Personal Finance
0 0%
100% 100
OOP
100 100%
0% 0
Financial Planner
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

Share your experience with using Elm and Scala.js. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
Log in or Post with

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Elm seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 123 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.

Elm mentions (123)

  • 3 Options to Avoid Side-Effects in Web Dev
    Use languages that don’t have side-effects; Elm for UI, and Roc for API/CLI. - Source: dev.to / 20 days ago
  • Reactivity in Programming
    Reactive programming itself is rarely found in pure form. It is often combined with other paradigms. This is how such mixes as Imperative Reactive Programming, Object-Oriented Reactive Programming and Functional Reactive Programming appeared. The latter is the most popular, and the Elm language is considered one of its main representatives. - Source: dev.to / 28 days ago
  • Tsonnet #13 - Carets, columns, and clues: adding lexing error tracing
    I've drawn inspiration from Elm and the blog post Compiler Errors for Humans -- it is nearly a decade old and still inspiring to read. - Source: dev.to / about 2 months ago
  • An Ode to TypeScript Enums
    When I see this it makes me want to run for ReasonML/ReScript/Elm/PureScript. Sum types (without payloads on the instances they are effectively enums) should not require a evening filling ceremonial dance event to define. https://reasonml.github.io/ https://rescript-lang.org/ https://elm-lang.org/ https://www.purescript.org/ (any I forgot?) It's nice that TS is a strict super set of JS... But that's about the only... - Source: Hacker News / 2 months ago
  • TypeScript's Lack of Naming Types and Type Conversion in Angular
    Elm, ReScript, F#, Ocaml, Scala… it’s just normal to name your types, then use them places. In fact, you’ll often create the types _before_ the code, even if you’re not really practicing DDD (Domain Driven Design). Yes, you’ll do many after the fact when doing functions, or you start testing things and decide to change your design, and make new types. Either way, it’s just “the norm”. You then do the other norms... - Source: dev.to / 7 months ago
View more

Scala.js mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of Scala.js yet. Tracking of Scala.js recommendations started around Mar 2021.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Elm and Scala.js, you can also consider the following products

Kotlin - Statically typed Programming Language targeting JVM and JavaScript

Mint - Free personal finance software to assist you to manage your money, financial planning, and budget planning tools. Achieve your financial goals with Mint.

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

ReasonML - ReasonML is a new face to OCaml that--when coupled with BuckleScript--makes web development easy...

F# - F# is a mature, open source, cross-platform, functional-first programming language.

Haste - Decreases ping in video games.