A Scientific Document Management System (Elm + Lamdera) - James Carlson | Lambda Days 2024

CodeSync · May 11, 2025, 1:00pm

This talk was recorded at Lambda Days in June 2024. If you’re curious about our upcoming event, check https://lambdadays.org

Abstract
I present the design and implementation of a scientific document management system, Scripta.io.

The system has two parts: (1) a compiler from a text in any one of three markup languages (MicroLaTeX, Scientific Markdown, and Enclosure) to HTML, and (2) the document management system proper. The latter provides an editor, a searchable store of documents, a way of bundling documents into notebooks, an image uploader to facilitate placement of images in documents, and export to both PDF and standard LaTeX. Both system parts are written in Elm, pure functional language designed for making web apps. We use the Lamdera framework so that both front and backend are written Elm, providing both typesafe communication between the two and an enjoyable developer experience with very rapid turn-around and feature development.

Topics: why this project is worth doing, how it was done, design criteria and challenges, and my developer experience.

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