[zach_garwood]

I think it's mostly a matter of taste which syntax you prefer. Where Elixir has the most advantage, in my opinion, is Mix, the language's build tool / project config / task runner. You use the command line tool to compile your project, run your tests, and any other user-defined task you'd like. And you use the Mix module to define your project's dependencies, environments, and build targets in Elixir code. It's a really nice all-in-one Swiss Army knife compared to the cobbled-together build processes from disparate tools found in other languages.