4 Features Javascript can steal from Clojure(Script)
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Summary: ClojureScript adds a lot of value on top of the Javascript platform. But some of that value can be had directly in Javascript without using a new language.
ClojureScript is a dialect of Clojure that compiles to Javascript. It lets you run Clojure in a browser or on Node. Just like Clojure, it has immutable data structures, literals for those data structures, macros, and core.async support.
These features are very powerful and they give ClojureScript a lot of power above Javascript. But a lot of that power can be had in Javascript through libraries, tools, and now some ES6 features. If you can't make the switch to ClojureScript, these tools might help you out. If you've heard of all the cool stuff that ClojureScript can do, well, this might be a good way to dip your toes in before you jump in.
1. Use ClojureScript's awesome data structures in Javascript
David Nolen, the maintainer of ClojureScript, has wrapped up the ClojureScript immutable data structures to be used as a Javascript library which he calls mori. He's put in a lot of work to make it convenient to use from Javascript. It's not just the datastructures. It also has all of the functional goodness that makes them powerful to use.
2. Write CSP like core.async without core.async
CSP stands for Communicating Sequential Processes. It's a model of concurrency that is used in Go and in Clojure core.async. It's a powerful tool, especially in Javascript, where you don't have threads. Once you use it, you'll never go back.
Well, thanks to Generators in EcmaScript 6, you can write CSP code in Javascript. There's a library called js-csp that does just that.
3. Better data formats than JSON
JSON is a great format for data exchange, but it has limitations. One of the biggest limitations is that it is not extensible. You cannot define new types. Wouldn't it be nice to have values that get parsed as Javascript Date objects? Another limitation is that map keys can only be strings.
The edn format is Clojure's
literal syntax made into a data format. It includes many data
structures, including symbols, keywords, sets, maps, lists, and
vectors. It is also extensible with
tagged literals, meaning a small tag can be placed in front of a value
to indicate the semantic
meaning of that value. There are a couple of built-in tags, such as
\#instant for Dates and \#uuid for, yes, UUIDs. But the important
thing is you can define your own and define how they get parsed.
There's a Javascript library for parsing and generating edn.
edn is a great format, but parsing it in Javascript is never going to be as fast as parsing JSON. The JSON parser is written in C and highly optimized. Because of that limitation, the folks who build Clojure wrote Transit, which is a data format that serializes to JSON. It's semantically equivalent to edn, so it's extensible, but it's also JSON, so it's fast to parse. There's a Javascript implementation.
4. Write your own syntax with macros
Macros are one of those legendary things Lisps are known for. They let you write code that writes code. Well, that's kind of a meaningless statement. Think of it more like extensible syntax. You can write a new type of syntax which will be translated to plain Javascript.
There's a macro system for Javascript called Sweet.js. The macro system is similar to the one found in Scheme systems. This isn't directly from Clojure, but you get the same power. Macros are a great way to extend a language. You no longer have to wait for a new language feature to be implemented. You can do it yourself.
Conclusion
The Javascript community is active and growing. There are plenty of smart people making cool libraries that can revolutionize your programs. One of Clojure's philosophies is to have a small core language and extend, to the extent possible, using libraries^1. So, those libraries can often be leveraged outside of Clojure, which is true in the case of mori. Or they are simply standardized to work cross-platform, like edn and Transit. CSP and macros are simply powerful tools that can be added to many languages.
Go give these tools a try. If you like them, you might like Clojure/ClojureScript. They will be here when you're ready. And when you are ready, I must recommend LispCast Introduction to Clojure. It's a video course designed and produced to take you from zero to Clojure.
- Those libraries often contain macros that extend the base language.