Elm 0.19.1 releases with improved syntax error messages in the Elm compiler

Yesterday Elm 0.19.1 was released with a new improvements to the compiler that now display syntactical errors in a new fashion that pointing users to their mistakes as well as suggesting them additional resources. The goal of 0.19.1 is to clean up the rough edges such that we have a really solid foundation for newcomers, professionals, scientists.

Evan Czaplicki, the creator of these improved error messages explains in a blog post, “the new error messages points to the spot where it got stuck, but more importantly, it tries to help by (1) giving examples and (2) linking to a page that explains how imports work. It tries to help you learn!”

For example, if you miss out on including a curly braces in your JavaScript code, the error message shows up at the very end of the file. Now with the improved Elm compiler, the error message will point out the error where it occurred while also suggesting a viable fix.

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Source: Elm’s blog

Czaplicki hopes that this project can eliminate the survivorship bias present in the programming ecosystem, which he believes is also one of the reasons why it took so long for Elm to prioritize this project. “I hope this work on syntax error messages will help make Elm more friendly and accessible, and I hope it will help make space for other language designers to prioritize this kind of project!”, he adds.