Elm & The Future of Open Source (with Evan Czaplicki)

Writing a programming language involves three main challenges: design, ecosystem, and sustainability. The first two—designing a desirable language and building a comprehensive ecosystem—are achieved through thoughtful planning and development. However, sustainability, or making the project financially viable, remains a challenge, as exemplified by Evan Czaplicki with Elm.

Evan Czaplicki, the creator of Elm, discusses the difficulty in balancing professional obligations with the growing demands of his language. He realized his work for Elm wasn't aligning with corporate assessments of value, leading him to pause on growth until he could correlate efforts with supporting resources.

Czaplicki explains his decision to halt Elm's expansion due to the unsustainable nature of open-source funding models, such as donations. He likens his strategy to farming—saving in favorable seasons to endure lean ones—to sustain Elm independently without outside pressure or unrealistic expectations.

Evan talks about focusing on backend development to enhance his skills and explore new interests. He decided on a more private development approach to avoid premature scrutiny and the pressure of expectations, aiming for readiness before public disclosure.

The conversation highlights the difficulty of balancing innovation and developer expectations in a public sphere. Czaplicki emphasizes a strategic approach by illustrating the contrast between open, community-based development and protecting independence from corporate interests.

Evan reflects on the broader sustainability of open-source models, critiquing their vulnerability to corporate outsourcing without fair recompense. He questions whether the open-source approach serves the independent creator’s interest, suggesting alternative models like Engine X’s tiered offerings.

Discussing Elm's approach to error messages led Evan to emphasize user-friendly software development experiences, drawn from personal learning frustrations. He underscores the importance of navigable error feedback to enhance productivity and user confidence.

In reflecting on open-source maintenance, Evan acknowledges the personal cost and time pressures it places on developers. He advises caution, aligning personal and financial realities with open-source contributions. He advocates for supportive partnerships in the community to balance contributions.

Evan explores the potential of comprehensive type-safety across full systems stacks to meet company needs, aiming to integrate consistent compiler analysis from databases through to front-end. This approach seeks to minimize interfacing errors, offering a seamless development experience.