Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

SFML VS Haskell

Compare SFML VS Haskell and see what are their differences

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SFML logo SFML

SFML provides a simple interface to the various components of your PC, to ease the development of games and multimedia applications. It is composed of five modules: system, window, graphics, audio and network.

Haskell logo Haskell

An advanced purely-functional programming language
  • SFML Landing page
    Landing page //
    2018-09-29
  • Haskell Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-05-01

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

SFML features and specs

  • User-Friendly API
    SFML provides a simple and intuitive API which makes it easier for developers to learn and use, especially for beginners who are new to graphics programming.
  • Cross-Platform Support
    SFML supports multiple operating systems including Windows, Linux, and macOS, allowing developers to create cross-platform applications with minimal code changes.
  • Module-Based
    It offers different modules for handling various system aspects like graphics, window, audio, and networking. This modularity helps in organizing code better and using only what is needed.
  • Hardware Acceleration
    SFML provides hardware-accelerated graphics, making it efficient and fast for rendering, which is critical for real-time applications like games.
  • Community and Documentation
    SFML has an active community and offers comprehensive documentation, tutorials, and a supportive forum which are invaluable for development and troubleshooting.

Possible disadvantages of SFML

  • Limited 3D Support
    SFML is primarily designed for 2D graphics, and it doesn’t have native support for 3D graphics, which can be limiting for developers looking to create 3D games.
  • Less Popularity
    Compared to other game development libraries and frameworks like Unity or Unreal Engine, SFML is less popular, which means fewer third-party resources and plugins.
  • Manual Memory Management
    SFML does not handle memory management for you, requiring developers to be cautious with resource management to avoid memory leaks.
  • Limited Advanced Features
    While SFML covers basic game development needs, it may lack advanced features and tools provided by more extensive engines, leading developers to implement more functionalities manually.
  • Smaller Ecosystem
    The ecosystem around SFML is smaller compared to more mature game engines, which leads to fewer tutorials, plugins, and reusable assets available for developers.

Haskell features and specs

  • Pure Functional Programming
    Haskell emphasizes pure functional programming, meaning functions have no side effects. This leads to code that is easier to understand, test, and maintain.
  • Strong Type System
    Haskell's type system is strong and expressive, allowing developers to catch many errors at compile time. This results in more reliable code.
  • Lazy Evaluation
    Haskell uses lazy evaluation by default, which can lead to performance improvements by avoiding unnecessary computations and enabling the creation of infinite data structures.
  • Immutability
    In Haskell, data is immutable by default. This leads to simpler reasoning about code behavior and reduces bugs related to mutable state.
  • High-Level Abstractions
    Haskell provides powerful abstractions like monads, functors, and applicative functors, which can lead to more concise and expressive code.
  • Concurrency
    Haskell has excellent support for concurrency and parallelism through its lightweight threading model and software transactional memory, making it suitable for concurrent applications.
  • Community and Libraries
    Haskell has a dedicated community and a rich set of libraries and tools, which can help accelerate development and provide solutions to common problems.

Possible disadvantages of Haskell

  • Steep Learning Curve
    Haskell has a steep learning curve, particularly for developers who are new to functional programming or coming from imperative and object-oriented backgrounds.
  • Performance Concerns
    While Haskell can be efficient, its performance can sometimes lag behind other languages like C++ or Rust for certain use cases, especially those requiring low-level optimization.
  • Limited Industry Adoption
    Haskell is not as widely adopted in industry compared to languages like Java, Python, or JavaScript, which can limit job opportunities and community size.
  • Compilation Times
    Haskell's compilation times can be long, especially for large projects, which can slow down the development process.
  • Tooling and IDE Support
    While improving, the tooling and IDE support for Haskell is not as mature as for some other popular languages, potentially affecting developer productivity.
  • Complexity of Advanced Features
    Some of Haskell's advanced features, such as monads and type-level programming, can be complex and difficult to master, which can be a barrier for new developers.
  • Library Gaps
    Although Haskell has many libraries, there might be gaps or less mature libraries for some specific use cases compared to more mainstream languages.

Analysis of Haskell

Overall verdict

  • Haskell is good for certain types of projects and developers, especially those interested in functional programming and academic exploration. It may not be the best choice for every use case, particularly where performance-critical applications or system-level programming is required, due to its steep learning curve and relatively smaller community compared to more mainstream languages.

Why this product is good

  • Haskell is a purely functional programming language known for its high level of abstraction, robust type system, and lazy evaluation. These features make Haskell an excellent choice for academic research, complex algorithm design, and scenarios where concise and maintainable code is paramount. It encourages a different way of thinking about programming problems, which can lead to more elegant and robust solutions.

Recommended for

  • Developers interested in functional programming paradigms
  • Projects focused on academic research or algorithm development
  • Software requiring high-level abstractions and strong type safety
  • Enthusiasts wishing to learn a different approach to thinking about software design

SFML videos

Coding a Simple SFML Game Framework in C++/ SFML

More videos:

  • Review - A Closer Look at SFML
  • Review - ALLEGRO vs. SDL vs. SFML (Game Programming Q&A)

Haskell videos

Functional Programming & Haskell - Computerphile

More videos:

  • Review - Marloe Haskell Review
  • Review - Marloe Watch Company - Haskell - Watch Review

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to SFML and Haskell)
Game Engine
100 100%
0% 0
Programming Language
0 0%
100% 100
Game Development
100 100%
0% 0
OOP
0 0%
100% 100

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Haskell seems to be a lot more popular than SFML. While we know about 21 links to Haskell, we've tracked only 1 mention of SFML. 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.

SFML mentions (1)

  • Open source recreation of the PS Vita game -- Calling all creators
    I would like to recreate the Plastic Memories PS Vita game as a free, open source, cross-platform (any platform SFML runs on*) game for everyone to enjoy. I'm not sure how much time I'll be able to put into it (I don't have much time between school and various other projects of mine) but I can handle the code, coordination, and source code hosting. Source: over 3 years ago

Haskell mentions (21)

  • Is there a programming language that will blow my mind?
    Haskell - a general-purpose functional language with many unique properties (purely functional, lazy, expressive types, STM, etc). You mentioned you dabbled in Haskell, why not try it again? (I've written about 7 things I learned from Haskell, and my book is linked at them bottom if you're interested :) ). Source: about 2 years ago
  • Where to go from here?
    Where you go is entirely up to you. According to haskell.org, Haskell jobs are a-plenty. sigh. Source: about 2 years ago
  • Haskell.org now has "Get Started" page!
    Should they be part of haskell.org or something else? Source: over 2 years ago
  • Haskell.org now has "Get Started" page!
    Haskell.org now has a big purple Get Started button that takes you to a nice short guide (haskell.org/get-started) that quickly provides all the basic info to get going with Haskell. It is aimed for beginners, to reduce choice fatigue and to give them a clear, official path to get going. Source: over 2 years ago
  • dev environment for windows
    I just jumped into the wiki "Write Yourself a Scheme in 48 hours" which looks pretty good. (although some of the text explanation is hard to understand without context).. I used cabal to set up the starter project. Sublime editor seems to work OK and I just use the git Bash shell on windows to compile the program directly on the command line. So maybe this is all good enough for now (?). It seems installing... Source: over 2 years ago
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What are some alternatives?

When comparing SFML and Haskell, you can also consider the following products

raylib - Cross-platform, open-source game development library in C.

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

Godot Engine - Feature-packed 2D and 3D open source game engine.

Rust - A safe, concurrent, practical language

Allegro - Allegro 4 and Allegro 5 are cross-platform, libraries mainly aimed at video game and multimedia...

JavaScript - Lightweight, interpreted, object-oriented language with first-class functions