Published March 7th, 2024
++ Earlier this week, [Bleacher Report](https://bleacherreport.com) was bought out and forced to re-write their Elixir/Erlang backend in something "more-mainstream" by the + buying party (Warner), this is a HUGE mistake, and an example of how main-stream thought has eroded the foundations of software engineering. Bleacher Report had used + Elixir/Erlang since at least [2017](https://www.erlang-solutions.com/case-studies/bleacher-report-case-study/), + when their case-study of going from 150 servers to 5 via converting their Ruby code to Elixir/Erlang was published. + All of this resliency, and engineering effort is now going to be rewritten in none other than JavaScript, which of course will be a tremedous effort. +
++ So why did they do it? Well, they had lay-offs, and then they needed to re-fill the seats they laid off a few years later. Instead of leveraging this "gold card" + that is a niche language, Warner decides that it will be too hard to fill N seats. Which is also another issue in the software world, the "butts in seats typing" + phalacy that more will get done. Anyways, what Warner could have done, is use this fantastical power bestowed by a niche language, and got the best developers + in that niche technology. If they hired 15 Node devs for 100k a year each, they could afford 5 Erlang masterminds for 300k a year each (and then you wouldn't need a + rewrite!) The other option is to hire a few Erlang devs and have them train other devs which could be an effective cost-cutting measure as well, without + having to rewrite your codebase. +
++ I've been asked many times by developers, "should I learn X, it's so niche but it looks cool", and to every single one of those questions, I shout "YES!!!". + Learning is ALWAYS good. But also, if you get really good at these niche technologies, you can become a SME (subject matter expert), and get hired + by a business looking for people like you. Jane Street is notorious for using OCaml for literally everything. Yaron Minsky, mentions at Jane Street states + that while there aren't many OCaml developers, the small set that does exist is typically really good, and a grade above the usual Python, Java, JavaScript developer + (you'll choke on your coffee when you read Jane Streets developer salaries as well). +
++ When starting a new project I think you should consider using a niche language. + You learn a lot, but also when it comes time to scale your idea, and you need to hire a partner or two, + you'll be greatful you chose it, when extremely talented and passionate individuals send you their resume solely because you chose a backend written in Haskell, Scala, + Perl, OCaml, Elixir, Clojure, Lua, etc. This is what happened for NoRedInk, after writing their original MVP in Ruby, they ended up using Haskell and Elm for new + services, and now, they're one of the most well known Functional Programming shops, and they've managed to hire some brilliant people, like the creator of Elm himself! +
+