Programming Elixir

Programming Elixir Functional > Concurrent > Pragmatic > Fun

Dave Thomas2014
You want to explore functional programming, but are put off by the academic feel (tell me about monads just one more time). You know you need concurrent applications, but also know these are almost impossible to get right. Meet Elixir, a functional, concurrent language built on the rock-solid Erlang VM. Elixir's pragmatic syntax and built-in support for metaprogramming will make you productive and keep you interested for the long haul. This book isthe introduction to Elixir for experienced programmers. Maybe you need something that's closer to Ruby, but with a battle-proven environment that's unrivaled for massive scalability, concurrency, distribution, and fault tolerance. Maybe the time is right for the Next Big Thing. Maybe it'sElixir. And don't forget to download this handy "cheat sheet":https://media.pragprog.com/titles/?elixir/ElixirCheat.pdf for Elixir syntax. h5. Print books will be available after Elixir 1.0 has been finalized. As a developer, you've probably heard that functional programming techniques help manage the complexities of today's real-world, concurrent systems. You're also investigating designs that help you maximize uptime and manage security. This book is your guide to Elixir, a modern, functional, and concurrent programming language. Because Elixir runs on the Erlang VM, and uses the underlying Erlang/OTP architecture, it benefits from almost 20 years of research into high performance, highly parallel, and seriously robust applications. Elixir brings a lot that's new: a modern, Ruby-like, extendable syntax, compile and runtime evaluation, a hygienic macro system, and more. But, just as importantly, Elixir brings a sense of enjoyment to parallel, functional programming. Your applications become fun to work with, and the language encourages you to experiment. Part 1 covers the basics of writing sequential Elixir programs. We'll look at the language, the tools, and the conventions. Part 2 uses these skills to start writing concurrent code--applications that use all the cores on your machine, or all the machines on your network! And we do it both with and without OTP. And Part 3 looks at the more advanced features of the language, from DSLs and code generation to extending the syntax. By the end of this book, you'll understand Elixir, and know how to apply it to solve your complex, modern problems.
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Reviews

Photo of Bo Jeanes
Bo Jeanes@bjeanes
2 stars
Jul 15, 2022

I've been really excited about Elixir for a few months and wanting to dig in. Late last year, I went through the Getting Started guide and managed to get through the whole thing in about a day. Then I did nothing with Elixir until picking up this book. I really wanted to like it but really, I found that it was just a wordier version of the Getting Started guide. It took longer to get through but taught very little above what was in the guide. Furthermore, the author's writing style and humour came off as condescending using occasional agist innuendo. It doesn't feel like the author has correctly identified his target audience in the slightest. People who've already bought this book do not need to be patronised to about the benefits of functional programming. I did finish the book, but it was extremely difficult to get through, in part due to this writing style. I've read other work by Dave Thomas' and don't remember having this reaction to it, but I'm not sure if I've changed or if this book is different. My suggestion? Just go through Elixir's Getting Started guide.

Photo of Josh Kuiros
Josh Kuiros@joshkuiros
4 stars
Jan 30, 2024
Photo of Georgi Mitrev
Georgi Mitrev@gmitrev
2 stars
Jul 4, 2023
Photo of Simao Freitas
Simao Freitas@simao
4 stars
Jan 19, 2023
Photo of Jesse J. Anderson
Jesse J. Anderson@jessejanderson
5 stars
Jan 12, 2023
Photo of zhao lu
zhao lu@zlu
5 stars
Sep 28, 2021
Photo of Garren
Garren@garren
4 stars
Jul 27, 2021