Clojure vs. Javascript mindsets

Over the last 1.5 years, I navigated between the JS and Clojure ecosystems, having spent the last 6 years in the JS world.

I observed important differences between the two. Here are my initial observations:

#1 Javascript: Fast! Now! vs Clojure: Control & Overview

In the Javascript world, you can start a full-stack app in two seconds while in Clojure you need to think about the tools you’ll use.

Javascript advantage: More out-of-the-box functionality

Clojure advantage: More control and easier to fix bugs

#2 Javascript: Fast MVP vs Clojure: Upfront thinking about features

This builds on the previous point. Having more out-of-the-box, you can start building right away with Javascript.

In Clojure, it pays off to think about all the features you’ll build in order to save time later on. This technique is also called Hammock-driven development

#3 Javascript: Update packages! vs Clojure: Do we need the update?

As developers, we build upon other people’s work.

The NPM registry has 1 million packages with a complex web of inter-dependencies between them. They receive frequent updates which make developers update their project dependencies very often.

In the Clojure world, package updates are done only when necessary: critical bug fixes, new features, etc.

#4 Javascript: Standard tooling vs Clojure: Internal tooling

Because of the size of the JS tools, standard tools arise from the masses that see massive adoption.

Because the Clojure world is smaller and developers tend to create their own tools, many companies have a lot of internal tools geared towards their specific needs.

#5 Javascript: Big framework vs Clojure: Compose small tools

This builds upon the last point.

The standard in the JS world is to have 1 or 2 go-to frameworks for a particular scenario and they are very well documented.

In the Clojure world, because of the Lisp curse, you’ll see tons of tools for the same job and many of them are poorly documented. One of the challenges is deciding on the best tools for the job.

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