Python.. Ruby.. Now Elixir? - Hipsters Assemble

The thoughts of a bad programmer on moving from a ruby and python background to Elixir

Presented to the KatsConf conference on the 16th September 2016

Transcript

1. Python… Ruby…
   Now Elixir?
   Hipsters Assemble
   

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2. About Me
   • Stephen McCullough
   • Currently working at
   ShopKeep as Senior Software
   Engineer
   • On a daily basis I use python
   & ruby
   • Find me at swm.cc or
   @swmcc on various interwebs
   

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3. Hipsters Assemble…
   Is this harsh?
   

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4. So why Elixir?
   • The future is functional
   • The future is concurrent
   

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5. Immutability and functional
   • Elixir is a functional language with immutability
   • Mutability brings an uncertainty about how a
   program will execute
   • Functional programming and immutability makes
   it easier to reason about code
   

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6. Concurrency
   • Its here to stay
   • Concurrency in Elixir is easy.
   

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7. Web Framework
   • Phoenix is the most popular web framework (for
   now)
   • Creator of Elixir is a Rails core member and the
   creator of Phoenix
   • Opens up possibilities that are not present in
   traditional web frameworks
   

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8. So why Elixir again?
   • In my head it isn’t that big a step from python/
   ruby to elixir
   • Community is great
   

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9. hello.erl
   • ruby like syntax
   • I’ve found that elixir takes a lot
   of things from ruby
   

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10. hello.erl
    • In Elixir 'def' is a function call
    • In Elixir ‘if’ is a function call too
    

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11. Meta Programming!
    • Elixir embraces metaprogramming
    • To me this was scary and not at all native to my
    thinking.
    • Elixir is Macros, mostly
    

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12. Elixir is Macros
    • …. mostly
    • Elixir uses macros to provide interfaces for
    expanding complex sets of instructions during
    compilation
    

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13. Pattern Matching
    • In Elixir, the = sign doesn’t necessarily mean “set
    this variable equal to something else”
    • The realisation that it behaves differently based
    on the types involved
    

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14. List Comprehensions
    • I <3 list comprehensions. Ruby doesn’t have
    them but python does.
    • I have found that Elixir often has better functions
    (such as those from List and Enum) which are
    more flexible.
    

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15. Higher-Order Functions
    • Passing functions as arguments - it can be done
    in ruby and python.
    • Native and natural part of the language rather
    than an oddity.
    

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16. I’m at the start
    • I am slowly learning Elixir
    • I have found it “exciting”
    • It takes a while to get into the headspace
    • Functional yet practical
    

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17. What I want to learn next
    • Protocols
    • Sigils
    • Recursion
    

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