There's a lot of type terminology and jargon going around when discussing types in Elm. This glossary attempts to list some of the most common type terms along with synonyms, terms from other language communities, examples, and links to more detailed articles on each topic.
evancz
/ data-interchange.md
Last active
April 29, 2024 16:53
Why do I have to write JSON decoders in Elm?
How do you send information between clients and servers? What format should that information be in? What happens when the server changes the format, but the client has not been updated yet? What happens when the server changes the format, but the database cannot be updated?
These are difficult questions. It is not just about picking a format, but rather picking a format that can evolve as your application evolves.
By now there are many approaches to communicating between client and server. These approaches tend to be known within specific companies and language communities, but the techniques do not cross borders. I will outline JSON, ProtoBuf, and GraphQL here so we can learn from them all.
evancz
/ Guidelines.md
Last active
October 17, 2023 05:36
Some thoughts on how to have nicer discussions online
I personally like to have discussions in the spirit of the Socratic method. Instead of declaring my opinion, I ask a relevant question. How about this situation? What about this case? This has two possible outcomes.
- The other person explains to me how things work in that case. I realize that I misunderstood, and we both come out enriched and in agreement.
- The other person realizes that those situations are not covered. They realize they misunderstood, and we both come out enriched and in agreement.
In both cases, it could have been a conflict, egos crashing together. But by asking questions, it becomes a collaboration to find the best answer. Even the simple act of asking a question in the first place says, "I care what you have to say, we can agree on this." That said, I have noticed that it is definitely still possible for things to go wrong within this framework. How can this happen?
There was a passage from [The