The Howdy Glossary

Joule, a concurrent event-driven programming language developed at Sun Microsystems, is tailored for constructing distributed systems. It features a network-oriented design to simplify communication among system components and supports incremental development and testing across various environments. Utilizing actors for concurrency and message passing for communication, Joule incorporates dynamic typing, garbage collection, and runtime type checking to enhance functionality and ease of use. Notably, its support for HTTP requests broadens its applicability to web applications as well as standalone programs.

Joule's incorporation of actors as the primary mechanism for concurrency sets it apart by facilitating communication through message passing. The enhancements brought by dynamic typing, garbage collection, and runtime type checking contribute to a user-friendly development experience. Its network-oriented design simplifies interactions between components while allowing gradual specification development in diverse settings. Joule's unique support for HTTP requests distinguishes it from competitors such as Erlang, Elixir, Akka (built on Scala), and Pony by extending its utility beyond standalone programs into the realm of web applications.

Targeted at developers focused on building distributed systems and concurrent event-driven applications, Joule appeals through its robust set of features geared toward efficiency and scalability in distributed environments. Its reliance on actors for concurrency combined with dynamic typing and runtime type checking offers an approachable yet powerful platform for developing complex systems. Additionally, the ability to handle HTTP requests makes Joule particularly versatile in creating web-based distributed systems, thereby expanding its potential user base among developers working on internet-facing applications.