[AlchemistCamp]

I really, really enjoyed Rails when I discovered it and I still like it for some quick prototypes. Since finding Elixir, I haven't ever wanted to maintain a Rails app again, though.

The immutability and the lack of magic you mention are probably the two main reasons Elixir projects are easier to jump into. Even when macros are involved, you can still scroll to the top of the file, look at line with "use" or "using" in it and know exactly what is affecting your module.

With a lot of other languages, it's completely unknowable from inside one file to know where or if external metaprogramming is affecting your module.