I've just started learning Elixir out of interest so I can't quite answer your question. However, I'd like to ask: what have you found to be difficult to do using the Elixir types such as tuples, list, keyword lists, and maps that would otherwise be easy to do using arrays? I'm asking out of genuine curiosity because I've specifically noticed a lack of arrays when learning Elixir and I'm quite used to using them in other languages.
Elixir has no native array syntax nor any array functions in the stlib so arrays are basically second class citizens rather than completely absent. Ask not why I need them but why anyone might need them if the Elixir is supposed to be a general purpose language. Why does Clojure need them or Ruby or Python (lists)? If I want to process data as a large indexed array Elixir isn't going to help me and some Elixir devs have conceded that it may not be suitable for large scale data processing. We all know Elixir/Erlang excels at distributed concurrency but the question here is whether it is deficient in other areas, making it too much of a niche language.
> Why does Clojure need them or Ruby or Python (lists)?
So you want a list it seems
> l=[1,2,3]
> [h | t] = l
[1, 2, 3]
> h
1
> t
[2, 3]
> If I want to process data as a large indexed array Elixir isn't going to help me
But neither will Python. You'd want a large indexed array you probably want numpy.
See now you are revealing a bit more about your usecase that's helpful. So you have large amount of data and want to query it and process it. In that case you might want to check out ETS. The nice benefit, you have have cool matching or query list comprehensions of it. Can also access it concurrently from multiple processes:
> but the question here is whether it is deficient in other areas, making it too much of a niche language.
Of course it is deficient. C is deficient. Java, C++ is they all. Every language is deficient in some way. I haven't found a Perfect one yet. Still looking... Maybe Rust, who knows, still struggling to learn it.
Original poster, specifically mentioned lists in Python, i.e. implying they wanted something equivalent to that. (Why does Clojure need them or Ruby or Python (lists)).
It definitely doesn't fit as a hardcore number crunching language. People do regularly just setup their number-y code in C or similar and call out to it so you can handle the distributed stuff with a language that works well there and the low level stuff with a different one. Similar to numpy/etc. calling to C or FORTRAN libs.
> making it too much of a niche language.
No language will be the "one true language" that excels at everything.
