Get the code: learnelm.elm
Elm is a functional reactive programming language that compiles to (client-side) JavaScript. Elm is statically typed, meaning that the compiler catches most errors immediately and provides a clear and understandable error message. Elm is great for designing user interfaces and games for the web.
-- Single line comments start with two dashes.
{- Multiline comments can be enclosed in a block like this.
{- They can be nested. -}
-}
{-- The Basics --}
-- Arithmetic
1 + 1 -- 2
8 - 1 -- 7
10 * 2 -- 20
-- Every number literal without a decimal point can be either an Int or a Float.
33 / 2 -- 16.5 with floating point division
33 // 2 -- 16 with integer division
-- Exponents
5 ^ 2 -- 25
-- Booleans
not True -- False
not False -- True
1 == 1 -- True
1 /= 1 -- False
1 < 10 -- True
-- Strings and characters
"This is a string because it uses double quotes."
'a' -- characters in single quotes
-- Strings can be appended.
"Hello " ++ "world!" -- "Hello world!"
{-- Lists, Tuples, and Records --}
-- Every element in a list must have the same type.
["the", "quick", "brown", "fox"]
[1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
-- The second example can also be written with two dots.
List.range 1 5
-- Append lists just like strings.
List.range 1 5 ++ List.range 6 10 == List.range 1 10 -- True
-- To add one item, use "cons".
0 :: List.range 1 5 -- [0, 1, 2, 3, 4, 5]
-- The head and tail of a list are returned as a Maybe. Instead of checking
-- every value to see if it's null, you deal with missing values explicitly.
List.head (List.range 1 5) -- Just 1
List.tail (List.range 1 5) -- Just [2, 3, 4, 5]
List.head [] -- Nothing
-- List.functionName means the function lives in the List module.
-- Every element in a tuple can be a different type, but a tuple has a
-- fixed length.
("elm", 42)
-- Access the elements of a pair with the first and second functions.
-- (This is a shortcut; we'll come to the "real way" in a bit.)
Tuple.first ("elm", 42) -- "elm"
Tuple.second ("elm", 42) -- 42
-- The empty tuple, or "unit", is sometimes used as a placeholder.
-- It is the only value of its type, also called "Unit".
()
-- Records are like tuples but the fields have names. The order of fields
-- doesn't matter. Notice that record values use equals signs, not colons.
{ x = 3, y = 7 }
-- Access a field with a dot and the field name.
{ x = 3, y = 7 }.x -- 3
-- Or with an accessor function, which is a dot and the field name on its own.
.y { x = 3, y = 7 } -- 7
-- Update the fields of a record. (It must have the fields already.)
{ person |
name = "George" }
-- Update multiple fields at once, using the current values.
{ particle |
position = particle.position + particle.velocity,
velocity = particle.velocity + particle.acceleration }
{-- Control Flow --}
-- If statements always have an else, and the branches must be the same type.
if powerLevel > 9000 then
"WHOA!"
else
"meh"
-- If statements can be chained.
if n < 0 then
"n is negative"
else if n > 0 then
"n is positive"
else
"n is zero"
-- Use case statements to pattern match on different possibilities.
case aList of
[] -> "matches the empty list"
[x]-> "matches a list of exactly one item, " ++ toString x
x::xs -> "matches a list of at least one item whose head is " ++ toString x
-- Pattern matches go in order. If we put [x] last, it would never match because
-- x::xs also matches (xs would be the empty list). Matches do not "fall through".
-- The compiler will alert you to missing or extra cases.
-- Pattern match on a Maybe.
case List.head aList of
Just x -> "The head is " ++ toString x
Nothing -> "The list was empty."
{-- Functions --}
-- Elm's syntax for functions is very minimal, relying mostly on whitespace
-- rather than parentheses and curly brackets. There is no "return" keyword.
-- Define a function with its name, arguments, an equals sign, and the body.
multiply a b =
a * b
-- Apply (call) a function by passing it arguments (no commas necessary).
multiply 7 6 -- 42
-- Partially apply a function by passing only some of its arguments.
-- Then give that function a new name.
double =
multiply 2
-- Constants are similar, except there are no arguments.
answer =
42
-- Pass functions as arguments to other functions.
List.map double (List.range 1 4) -- [2, 4, 6, 8]
-- Or write an anonymous function.
List.map (\a -> a * 2) (List.range 1 4) -- [2, 4, 6, 8]
-- You can pattern match in function definitions when there's only one case.
-- This function takes one tuple rather than two arguments.
-- This is the way you'll usually unpack/extract values from tuples.
area (width, height) =
width * height
area (6, 7) -- 42
-- Use curly brackets to pattern match record field names.
-- Use let to define intermediate values.
volume {width, height, depth} =
let
area = width * height
in
area * depth
volume { width = 3, height = 2, depth = 7 } -- 42
-- Functions can be recursive.
fib n =
if n < 2 then
1
else
fib (n - 1) + fib (n - 2)
List.map fib (List.range 0 8) -- [1, 1, 2, 3, 5, 8, 13, 21, 34]
-- Another recursive function (use List.length in real code).
listLength aList =
case aList of
[] -> 0
x::xs -> 1 + listLength xs
-- Function calls happen before any infix operator. Parens indicate precedence.
cos (degrees 30) ^ 2 + sin (degrees 30) ^ 2 -- 1
-- First degrees is applied to 30, then the result is passed to the trig
-- functions, which is then squared, and the addition happens last.
{-- Types and Type Annotations --}
-- The compiler will infer the type of every value in your program.
-- Types are always uppercase. Read x : T as "x has type T".
-- Some common types, which you might see in Elm's REPL.
5 : Int
6.7 : Float
"hello" : String
True : Bool
-- Functions have types too. Read -> as "goes to". Think of the rightmost type
-- as the type of the return value, and the others as arguments.
not : Bool -> Bool
round : Float -> Int
-- When you define a value, it's good practice to write its type above it.
-- The annotation is a form of documentation, which is verified by the compiler.
double : Int -> Int
double x = x * 2
-- Function arguments are passed in parentheses.
-- Lowercase types are type variables: they can be any type, as long as each
-- call is consistent.
List.map : (a -> b) -> List a -> List b
-- "List dot map has type a-goes-to-b, goes to list of a, goes to list of b."
-- There are three special lowercase types: number, comparable, and appendable.
-- Numbers allow you to use arithmetic on Ints and Floats.
-- Comparable allows you to order numbers and strings, like a < b.
-- Appendable things can be combined with a ++ b.
{-- Type Aliases and Custom Types --}
-- When you write a record or tuple, its type already exists.
-- (Notice that record types use colon and record values use equals.)
origin : { x : Float, y : Float, z : Float }
origin =
{ x = 0, y = 0, z = 0 }
-- You can give existing types a nice name with a type alias.
type alias Point3D =
{ x : Float, y : Float, z : Float }
-- If you alias a record, you can use the name as a constructor function.
otherOrigin : Point3D
otherOrigin =
Point3D 0 0 0
-- But it's still the same type, so you can equate them.
origin == otherOrigin -- True
-- By contrast, defining a custom type creates a type that didn't exist before.
-- A custom type is so called because it can be one of many possibilities.
-- Each of the possibilities is represented as a "type variant".
type Direction =
North | South | East | West
-- Type variants can carry other values of known type. This can work recursively.
type IntTree =
Leaf | Node Int IntTree IntTree
-- "Leaf" and "Node" are the type variants. Everything following a type variant is a type.
-- Type variants can be used as values or functions.
root : IntTree
root =
Node 7 Leaf Leaf
-- Custom types (and type aliases) can use type variables.
type Tree a =
Leaf | Node a (Tree a) (Tree a)
-- "The type tree-of-a is a leaf, or a node of a, tree-of-a, and tree-of-a."
-- Pattern match variants in a custom type. The uppercase variants will be matched exactly. The
-- lowercase variables will match anything. Underscore also matches anything,
-- but signifies that you aren't using it.
leftmostElement : Tree a -> Maybe a
leftmostElement tree =
case tree of
Leaf -> Nothing
Node x Leaf _ -> Just x
Node _ subtree _ -> leftmostElement subtree
-- That's pretty much it for the language itself. Now let's see how to organize
-- and run your code.
{-- Modules and Imports --}
-- The core libraries are organized into modules, as are any third-party
-- libraries you may use. For large projects, you can define your own modules.
-- Put this at the top of the file. If omitted, you're in Main.
module Name where
-- By default, everything is exported. You can specify exports explicitly.
module Name (MyType, myValue) where
-- One common pattern is to export a custom type but not its type variants. This is known
-- as an "opaque type", and is frequently used in libraries.
-- Import code from other modules to use it in this one.
-- Places Dict in scope, so you can call Dict.insert.
import Dict
-- Imports the Dict module and the Dict type, so your annotations don't have to
-- say Dict.Dict. You can still use Dict.insert.
import Dict exposing (Dict)
-- Rename an import.
import Graphics.Collage as C
{-- Ports --}
-- A port indicates that you will be communicating with the outside world.
-- Ports are only allowed in the Main module.
-- An incoming port is just a type signature.
port clientID : Int
-- An outgoing port has a definition.
port clientOrders : List String
port clientOrders = ["Books", "Groceries", "Furniture"]
-- We won't go into the details, but you set up callbacks in JavaScript to send
-- on incoming ports and receive on outgoing ports.
{-- Command Line Tools --}
-- Compile a file.
$ elm make MyFile.elm
-- The first time you do this, Elm will install the core libraries and create
-- elm-package.json, where information about your project is kept.
-- The reactor is a server that compiles and runs your files.
-- Click the wrench next to file names to enter the time-travelling debugger!
$ elm reactor
-- Experiment with simple expressions in a Read-Eval-Print Loop.
$ elm repl
-- Packages are identified by GitHub username and repo name.
-- Install a new package, and record it in elm-package.json.
$ elm package install elm-lang/html
-- See what changed between versions of a package.
$ elm package diff elm-lang/html 1.1.0 2.0.0
-- Elm's package manager enforces semantic versioning, so minor version bumps
-- will never break your build!
The Elm language is surprisingly small. You can now look through almost any Elm source code and have a rough idea of what is going on. However, the possibilities for error-resistant and easy-to-refactor code are endless!
Here are some useful resources.
The Elm website. Includes:
Documentation for Elm's core libraries. Take note of:
The Elm Architecture. An essay by Elm's creator with examples on how to organize code into components.
The Elm mailing list. Everyone is friendly and helpful.
Scope in Elm and How to Read a Type Annotation. More community guides on the basics of Elm, written for JavaScript developers.
Go out and write some Elm!
Got a suggestion? A correction, perhaps? Open an Issue on the GitHub Repo, or make a pull request yourself!
Originally contributed by Max Goldstein, and updated by 10 contributors.