Loom - graph library for Clojure
A graph library for Clojure providing immutable graph data structures and algorithms.
What is Loom - graph library for Clojure?
Loom is a graph library for Clojure that provides immutable graph data structures and a comprehensive suite of graph algorithms. It solves the problem of working with graphs in a functional, Clojure-native way, offering tools for creation, manipulation, traversal, and visualization of graphs.
Clojure developers who need to implement graph-based data processing, network analysis, dependency resolution, or any application requiring graph algorithms and structures.
Developers choose Loom for its pure functional design, seamless integration with Clojure's immutable collections, and extensive algorithm support without external dependencies beyond Clojure itself.
Overview
Graph library for Clojure. Mailing list https://groups.google.com/forum/#!forum/loom-clj
Use Cases
Best For
- Implementing graph algorithms like shortest path or topological sort in Clojure
- Building network analysis tools with immutable graph structures
- Modeling dependencies between entities in a functional style
- Creating and manipulating graph data with attributes on nodes and edges
- Generating random graphs for testing or simulation purposes
- Visualizing graph structures using GraphViz integration
Not Ideal For
- Projects requiring ongoing maintenance and updates for production stability
- Teams needing cutting-edge graph algorithms or integration with modern Clojure tooling
- Environments where installing external dependencies like GraphViz is prohibited or impractical
Pros & Cons
Pros
Provides immutable graph structures that integrate seamlessly with Clojure's functional paradigm, ensuring safe concurrency and persistence as shown in the README's add/remove operations returning new graphs.
Includes a wide range of algorithms like BFS, DFS, Dijkstra, and topological sort, reducing the need for custom implementations, with examples for pathfinding and traversal in the basics section.
Supports directed, undirected, weighted, and attributed graphs, allowing complex metadata storage on nodes and edges, as demonstrated in the attributes and derived graphs examples.
Integrates with GraphViz for graph viewing via loom.io/view, though it requires external installation, offering a convenient way to visualize structures.
Cons
The project is no longer actively developed, as announced, meaning no bug fixes, security updates, or compatibility with newer Clojure versions, which poses a risk for long-term use.
Requires GraphViz to be installed separately with binaries in the path, adding setup complexity and potential deployment hurdles, as noted in the visualization section.
Being unmaintained, community support and documentation updates are stagnant, making it harder to resolve issues or find modern examples compared to active projects.
Frequently Asked Questions
Related Projects
OnyxDistributed, masterless, high performance, fault tolerant data processing
NeanderthalFast Clojure Matrix Library
flamboA Clojure DSL for Apache Spark
sparkllingA Clojure library for Apache Spark: fast, fully-features, and developer friendly
Found a gem we're missing?
Open-Awesome is built by the community, for the community. Submit a project, suggest an awesome list, or help improve the catalog on GitHub.