12 years supporting Software Architecture teaching with BEAMs

This presentation shares 12 years of experience integrating the Erlang/Elixir ecosystem (BEAM) into a university-level Software Architecture course. We'll explore how the unique combination of Functional Programming (FP) principles, coupled with Erlang/Elixir's robust concurrency and distribution model, fosters a hands-on, experiential understanding of key architectural concepts. We'll explain how using the BEAM has been key in empowering students to grasp and implement architectural styles like microservices, leader-worker or peer-to-peer architectures with greater ease and confidence. The presentation will also emphasize the importance of industry-academia collaboration in nurturing a thriving ecosystem for FP technologies and inspiring future generations of software professionals.

Transcript

1. Applying FP 12 years supporting Software Architecture teaching with BEAMs FUNCTIONAL CONF 2025 Dr. Laura M. Castro lcastro@udc.gal
2. About me 2 Who am I? • Software Engineer (2003) • PhD in Computer Science (2010) • Professor: Software Architecture, Software Testing • Researcher: industrial applications of FP, testing automation • Advocate for women, gender-perspective in tech, and free software!
3. About me 3 Erlang Ecosystem Foundation (EEF) - Education, Training & Adoption
4. Once Upon a Time
6. Spoiler alert
7. Spoiler alert 7 An experiment using Erlang for teaching a course in Software Architecture... that was a success
8. Erlang?
9. Erlang 9 • Born in 1986, released ’98 • Functional, concurrency-oriented – Lightweight, isolated processes, message-passing communication • Multiplatform VM – Garbage collection – Hot code swapping – Transparent distribution
10. Erlang 10 • Born in 1986, released ’98 • Functional, concurrency-oriented – Lightweight, isolated processes, message-passing communication • Multiplatform VM (.beam files) – Garbage collection – Hot code swapping – Transparent distribution
11. Spoiler alert 11 An experiment using Erlang for teaching a course in Software Architecture that was a success (full talk: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=t19aHilv1VI)
12. A decade-old talk, still relevant?
13. A decade-old talk, still relevant? 13 Did the experiment resist the pass of time?
14. Did the beams resist the pass of time?
15. Context
16. Context 16
17. Context 17
18. Context 18
19. Context 19
20. Context 20 • Public university • Created in 1989 • In the early 00’s, over 25k students • Faculty of Informatics, 2k students
21. Computing studies at UDC 21 All 5 sub-disciplines of ACM computing curricula Software Engineering Computer Science Information Systems Information Technology Computer Engineering
22. Software Architecture at UDC (Spain) 22 • First taught in 2012/2013 • 1 semester, 6 ETCS credits – 15 weeks, 3h/week lecture+lab (45h) – 150-180 hours effort p/student (7-9h/week) • Between 60-80 students per year – compulsory for software engineers – eligible for computer scientists
23. Software Architecture at UDC (Spain) 23 Learning objectives: • Concept of software architecture • Reference architectures • Components design & integration • Traceability & testing
24. Software Architecture at UDC (Spain) 24
25. Software Architecture at UDC (Spain) 25 The role of FP/Erlang? rapid prototyping
26. Software Architecture at UDC (Spain) 26 The role of FP/Erlang: rapid prototyping
27. Software Architecture at UDC (Spain) 27 • 3-4 weeks of getting-to-know the language • 8 weeks large-group (5-6 people) custom project – choose problem – motivate architecture – prototype demo in class!
28. Software Architecture at UDC (Spain) 28 • 3-4 weeks of getting-to-know the language • 8 weeks large-group (5-6 people) custom project – choose problem – motivate architecture – prototype demo in class!
29. Fast forward: today
30. 30 Did the experiment resist the pass of time?
31. Do you still use Erlang? 31
32. Do you still use Erlang? 32 No.
33. Do you still use FP? 33
34. Do you still use FP? 34 Yes!
35. Do you still use FP? 35 Yes! (we never stopped)
36. Do you still use FP? 36 We use Elixir.
37. Do you still use FP? 37 We use Elixir. (since 2018/2019)
38. Elixir?
39. Elixir 39 • Runs on the Erlang VM • First release 2012 • Modern syntax (allegedly) • Very welcoming community – Lots of learning resources – Large set of libraries (+ can use Erlang’s, too!)
40. The BEAM community 40
41. The beams did resist the pass of time.
42. So... what changed? 42 • Easier learning curve – Still having to force themselves beyond OO • More approachable sources of information • More newbie-friendly development
43. So... what changed? 43 • Easier learning curve – Still having to force themselves “beyond OO” • More approachable sources of information • More newbie-friendly development
44. And... what stayed the same? 44 Everything else! :)
45. And... what stayed the same? 45 Still the best ecosystem I know for rapid prototyping of architectural choices
46. And... what stayed the same? 46 • Forces them to think asynchronously • Encourages them to supervise failure • Eases the implementation and deployment of their choices, at large scale, in distributed manner
47. And... what stayed the same? 47 • Forces them to think asynchronously • Encourages them to supervise failure • Eases the implementation and deployment of their choices, at large scale, in distributed manner (How the BEAM will change your mind, CODE BEAM 2020: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=fpMAT_qlbcY)
48. Other things changing out there... 48 https://elixir-companies.com
49. Other things changing out there... 49
50. Phoenix Other things changing out there... 50
51. Other things changing out there... 51
52. Other things changing out there... 52
53. Other things changing out there... 53
54. Other things changing out there... 54
55. To take home
56. To take home 56 Functional programming is a paradigm with benefits that expand beyond programming
57. To take home 57 The BEAM ecosystem, FP with a focus on concurrency and distribution, is a great tool for learning/teaching architectural concepts
58. Thanks! #weBEAMtogether