A Little Bit of Elixir

This is an introductory talk to Elixir and Erlang. Elixir is a functional programming language. It is often called “distributed by default”. While trying out Elixir, I figured out that it is trivial to get two Erlang nodes on the same network to talk to each other.

But how does that happen? How is it that for the user there is no meaningful difference. That is, in the work required to get two nodes to talk, whether on the same machine or not?

This talk will be a small demo, showcasing the work required to get two nodes to talk. On the same machine, one two different machines, and then across the internet. Then we will see the various processes involved in doing so? In the meantime, we will also explore how fun it is to just get two machines to talk.

Distributed programming, though quite intimidating, can be easier to understand. Especially with languages like Erlang and Elixir, which are designed, keeping this in mind. The aim of the talk is to introduce people to the language and (some of) its unique features.

I hope the talk lets people explore Elixir and Erlang a bit more on their own.