Elixir Wizards

Latest Episodes:

SDUI at Scale: GraphQL & Elixir at Cars.com with Zack Kayser Jul 03, 2025

Show notes

Zack Kayser, Staff Software Engineer at cars.com, joins Elixir Wizards Sundi Myint and Charles Suggs to discuss how Cars.com adopted a server-driven UI (SDUI) architecture powered by Elixir and GraphQL to deliver consistent, updatable interfaces across web, iOS, and Android.

We explore why SDUI matters for feature velocity, how a mature design system and schema planning make it feasible, and what it takes, culturally and technically, to move UI logic from client code into a unified backend.

Key topics discussed in this episode:

SDUI fundamentals and how it differs from traditional server-side rendering
GraphQL as the single source of truth for UI components and layouts
Defining abstract UI components on the server to eliminate duplicate logic
Leveraging a robust design system as the foundation for SDUI success
API-first development and cross-team coordination for schema changes
Mock data strategies for early UI feedback without breaking clients
Handling breaking changes and hot-fix deployments via server-side updates
Enabling flexible layouts and A/B testing through server-controlled ordering
Balancing server-driven vs. client-managed UI
Iterative SDUI rollout versus “big-bang” migrations in large codebases
Using type specs and Dialyxir for clear cross-team communication
Integration testing at the GraphQL layer to catch UI regressions early
Quality engineering’s role in validating server-driven interfaces
Production rollback strategies across web and native platforms
Considerations for greenfield projects adopting SDUI from day one
Zack and Ethan's upcoming Instrumenting Elixir Apps book

Links mentioned:

https://cars.com
https://github.com/absinthe-graphql/absinthe
Telemetry & Observability for Elixir Apps Ep: https://youtu.be/1V2xEPqqCso
https://www.phoenixframework.org/blog/phoenix-liveview-1.0-released
https://hexdocs.pm/phoenix_live_view/assigns-eex.html
https://graphql.org/
https://tailwindcss.com/
https://github.com/jeremyjh/dialyxir
https://github.com/rrrene/credo
GraphQL Schema https://graphql.org/learn/schema/
SwiftUI https://developer.apple.com/documentation/swiftui/
Kotlin https://kotlinlang.org/
https://medium.com/airbnb-engineering/a-deep-dive-into-airbnbs-server-driven-ui-system-842244c5f5
Zack’s Twitter: https://x.com/kayserzl/
Zack’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/zack-kayser-93b96b88

Special Guest: Zack Kayser.

Rustler: Bridging Elixir and Rust with Sonny Scroggin Jun 26, 2025

Show notes

Rustler Core Team Member Sonny Scroggin joins Elixir Wizards Sundi Myint and Charles Suggs. Rustler serves as a bridge to write Native Implemented Functions (NIFs) in Rust that can be called from Elixir code. This combo leverages Rust's performance and memory safety while maintaining Elixir's fault tolerance and concurrency model, creating a powerful solution for CPU-intensive operations within Elixir applications.

Sonny provides guidance on when developers should consider using NIFs versus other approaches like ports or external services and highlights the considerations needed when stepping outside Elixir's standard execution model into native code.

Looking toward the future, Sonny discusses exciting developments for Rustler, including an improved asynchronous NIF interface, API modernization efforts, and better tooling. While Rust offers tremendous performance benefits for specific use cases, Sonny emphasizes that Elixir's dynamic nature and the BEAM's capabilities for distributed systems remain unmatched for many applications. Rustler simply provides another powerful tool that expands what developers can accomplish within the Elixir ecosystem.

Key topics discussed in this episode:

Rust as a "high-level low-level language" with memory safety
NIFs (Native Implemented Functions) in the BEAM virtual machine
Rustler's role simplifying Rust-Elixir integration with macros
CPU-intensive operations as primary NIF use cases
Beam scheduler interaction considerations with native code
Dirty schedulers for longer-running NIFs in OTP 20+
Memory safety advantages of Rust for NIFs
Development workflow using Mix tasks for Rustler
Common pitfalls when first working with Rust
Error handling improvements possible with Rustler NIFs
Differences between ports, NIFs, and external services
Asynchronous programming approaches in Rust versus Elixir
Tokyo runtime integration for asynchronous operations
Static NIFs for mobile device compatibility
Upcoming CLI tooling to simplify Rustler development
Rustler's API modernization efforts for better ergonomics
Thread pool sharing across multiple NIFs
Wasm integration possibilities for the BEAM
Compile-time safety versus dynamic runtime capabilities
Performance considerations when implementing NIFs
Compiler-assisted memory management in Rust
Automatic encoding/decoding between Rust and Elixir types
The importance of proper error handling
Real-world application in high-traffic authentication servers
Community resources for learning Rustler

Links mentioned:

https://github.com/rusterlium/rustler
https://github.com/rust-lang/rust
https://www.webdesignmuseum.org/flash-websites
https://www.php.net/
https://xmpp.org/
https://jabberd2.org/
Geocities: https://cybercultural.com/p/geocities-1995/ (fun fact: when you search Geocities on Google, the results page is in Comic Sans font.)
https://bleacherreport.com/
https://hexdocs.pm/jose/readme.html
https://github.com/rust-lang/rust-bindgen
Erlang Ports: https://www.erlang.org/doc/system/c_port.html
Erlang ETFs (External Term Format): https://www.erlang.org/doc/apps/erts/erl_ext_dist.html
Elixir gRPC https://github.com/elixir-grpc/grpc
gRPC (“Remote Proceduce Call”): https://grpc.io/
dirty_cpu.ex https://github.com/E-xyza/zigler/blob/main/lib/zig/nif/dirty_cpu.ex
ets https://www.erlang.org/doc/apps/stdlib/ets.html
Mnesia https://www.erlang.org/doc/apps/mnesia/mnesia.html
VPPs (Virtual Power Plants): https://www.energy.gov/lpo/virtual-power-plants
https://nixos.org/
WASM WebAssembly with Elixir: https://github.com/RoyalIcing/Orb
Rust Tokio https://tokio.rs/

Getting Started:
https://hexdocs.pm/rustler/0.17.0/Mix.Tasks.Rustler.New.html
https://rustup.rs/

Special Guest: Sonny Scroggin.

Nx and Machine Learning in Elixir with Sean Moriarity Jun 19, 2025

Show notes

Today on Elixir Wizards, hosts Sundi Myint and Charles Suggs catch up with Sean Moriarity, co-creator of the Nx project and author of Machine Learning in Elixir. Sean reflects on his transition from the military to a civilian job building large language models (LLMs) for software. He explains how the Elixir ML landscape has evolved since the rise of ChatGPT, shifting from building native model implementations toward orchestrating best-in-class tools.

We discuss the pragmatics of adding ML to Elixir apps: when to start with out-of-the-box LLMs vs. rolling your own, how to hook into Python-based libraries, and how to tap Elixir’s distributed computing for scalable workloads. Sean closes with advice for developers embarking on Elixir ML projects, from picking motivating use cases to experimenting with domain-specific languages for AI-driven workflows.

Key topics discussed in this episode:

The evolution of the Nx (Numerical Elixir) project and what's new with ML in Elixir
Treating Elixir as an orchestration layer for external ML tools
When to rely on off-the-shelf LLMs vs. custom models
Strategies for integrating Elixir with Python-based ML libraries
Leveraging Elixir’s distributed computing strengths for ML tasks
Starting ML projects with existing data considerations
Synthetic data generation using large language models
Exploring DSLs to streamline AI-powered business logic
Balancing custom frameworks and service-based approaches in production
Pragmatic advice for getting started with ML in Elixir

Links mentioned:

https://hexdocs.pm/nx/intro-to-nx.html
https://pragprog.com/titles/smelixir/machine-learning-in-elixir/
https://magic.dev/
https://smartlogic.io/podcast/elixir-wizards/s10-e10-sean-moriarity-machine-learning-elixir/
Pragmatic Bookshelf: https://pragprog.com/
ONNX Runtime Bindings for Elixir: https://github.com/elixir-nx/ortex
https://github.com/elixir-nx/bumblebee
Silero Voice Activity Detector: https://github.com/snakers4/silero-vad
Paulo Valente Graph Splitting Article: https://dockyard.com/blog/2024/11/06/2024/nx-sharding-update-part-1
Thomas Millar's Twitter https://x.com/thmsmlr
https://github.com/thmsmlr/instructor_ex
https://phoenix.new/
https://tidewave.ai/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/BERT_(language_model)
Talk: PyTorch: Fast Differentiable Dynamic Graphs in Python by Soumith Chintala
https://hexdocs.pm/axon/Axon.html
https://hexdocs.pm/exla/EXLA.html
VLM (Vision Language Models Explained): https://huggingface.co/blog/vlms
https://github.com/ggml-org/llama.cpp
Vector Search in Elixir: https://github.com/elixir-nx/hnswlib
https://www.amplified.ai/
Llama 4 https://mistral.ai/
Mistral Open-Source LLMs: https://mistral.ai/
https://github.com/openai/whisper
Elixir Wizards Season 5: Adopting Elixir https://smartlogic.io/podcast/elixir-wizards/season-five
https://docs.ray.io/en/latest/ray-overview/index.html
https://hexdocs.pm/flame/FLAME.html
https://firecracker-microvm.github.io/
https://fly.io/
https://kubernetes.io/
WireGuard VPNs https://www.wireguard.com/
https://hexdocs.pm/phoenixpubsub/Phoenix.PubSub.html
https://www.manning.com/books/deep-learning-with-python
Code BEAM 2025 Keynote: Designing LLM Native Systems - Sean Moriarity
Ash Framework https://ash-hq.org/
Sean’s Twitter: https://x.com/seanmoriarity
Sean’s Personal Blog: https://seanmoriarity.com/
Erlang Ecosystems Foundation Slack: https://erlef.org/slack-invite/erlef
Elixir Forum https://elixirforum.com/
Sean’s LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/sean-m-ba231a149/

Special Guest: Sean Moriarity.

LangChain: LLM Integration for Elixir Apps with Mark Ericksen Jun 12, 2025

Show notes

Mark Ericksen, creator of the Elixir LangChain framework, joins the Elixir Wizards to talk about LLM integration in Elixir apps. He explains how LangChain abstracts away the quirks of different AI providers (OpenAI, Anthropic’s Claude, Google’s Gemini) so you can work with any LLM in one more consistent API. We dig into core features like conversation chaining, tool execution, automatic retries, and production-grade fallback strategies.

Mark shares his experiences maintaining LangChain in a fast-moving AI world: how it shields developers from API drift, manages token budgets, and handles rate limits and outages. He also reveals testing tactics for non-deterministic AI outputs, configuration tips for custom authentication, and the highlights of the new v0.4 release, including “content parts” support for thinking-style models.

Key topics discussed in this episode:

• Abstracting LLM APIs behind a unified Elixir interface
• Building and managing conversation chains across multiple models
• Exposing application functionality to LLMs through tool integrations
• Automatic retries and fallback chains for production resilience
• Supporting a variety of LLM providers
• Tracking and optimizing token usage for cost control
• Configuring API keys, authentication, and provider-specific settings
• Handling rate limits and service outages with degradation
• Processing multimodal inputs (text, images) in Langchain workflows
• Extracting structured data from unstructured LLM responses
• Leveraging “content parts” in v0.4 for advanced thinking-model support
• Debugging LLM interactions using verbose logging and telemetry
• Kickstarting experiments in LiveBook notebooks and demos
• Comparing Elixir LangChain to the original Python implementation
• Crafting human-in-the-loop workflows for interactive AI features
• Integrating Langchain with the Ash framework for chat-driven interfaces
• Contributing to open-source LLM adapters and staying ahead of API changes
• Building fallback chains (e.g., OpenAI → Azure) for seamless continuity
• Embedding business logic decisions directly into AI-powered tools
• Summarization techniques for token efficiency in ongoing conversations
• Batch processing tactics to leverage lower-cost API rate tiers
• Real-world lessons on maintaining uptime amid LLM service disruptions

Links mentioned:
https://rubyonrails.org/
https://fly.io/
https://zionnationalpark.com/
https://podcast.thinkingelixir.com/
https://github.com/brainlid/langchain
https://openai.com/
https://claude.ai/
https://gemini.google.com/
https://www.anthropic.com/
Vertex AI Studio https://cloud.google.com/generative-ai-studio
https://www.perplexity.ai/
https://azure.microsoft.com/
https://hexdocs.pm/ecto/Ecto.html
https://oban.pro/
Chris McCord’s ElixirConf EU 2025 Talk https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ojL_VHc4gLk

Getting started:
https://hexdocs.pm/langchain/getting_started.html
https://ash-hq.org/
https://hex.pm/packages/langchain
https://hexdocs.pm/igniter/readme.html
https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=WM9iQlQSF_g
@brainlid on Twitter and BlueSky

Special Guest: Mark Ericksen.

Blue Heron: Bluetooth Low Energy (BLE) for Elixir & Nerves with Connor Rigby Jun 05, 2025

Show notes

Connor Rigby joins the Elixir Wizards to talk about Blue Heron BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) support for Elixir apps. Blue Heron implements the BLE specs in pure Elixir, leveraging binary pattern matching and concurrent message processing to handle Bluetooth protocols. Unlike most solutions that require C ports or NIFs, Blue Heron runs entirely in user space, so it works seamlessly in both Nerves-based embedded projects and (eventually) desktop Elixir applications.

We discuss how Nerves development differs from building Phoenix apps. Connor shares challenges he's experienced with hardware compatibility, where some chips only partially implement the spec, and he discusses the surprisingly deep (but sometimes incomplete) world of BLE device profiles. His tip for anyone entering the BLE space: read the official spec instead of trusting secondhand blog posts. Tools like Nerves LiveBook give you hands-on examples, so you can get a BLE prototype running on a Raspberry Pi and your phone in no time.

Key topics discussed in this episode:

Blue Heron origins and “bird” naming convention
BLE vs. Bluetooth Classic: core differences
Pure Elixir implementation—no C dependencies
Binary pattern matching for packet parsing
Hardware transport options: UART, SPI, USB, SDIO
GenServer patterns in Nerves vs. Phoenix
Linux requirement and power-consumption trade-offs
GATT (Generic Attribute Table) implementation patterns
SQLite integration for Nerves apps
Hardware chip quirks and spec compliance
Manufacturer-specific commands and workarounds
BLE device profiles and spec gaps
Security Management Profile (SMP) for encryption
Device connection and pairing workflows
Web vs. embedded development differences
Where to get started: hardware recommendations and docs

Links mentioned:

https://github.com/ConnorRigby/
https://github.com/blue-heron/
https://nerves-project.org/
BLE (Bluetooth Low Energy) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Bluetooth_Low_Energy
https://developer.apple.com/ibeacon/
https://learnyousomeerlang.com/building-otp-applications
Linux https://www.linux.org/
HCI (Host Controller Interface) https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Host_controller_interface
Circuits UART Library https://hexdocs.pm/circuits_uart/readme.html
SPI (Serial Peripheral Interface) https://github.com/elixir-circuits/circuits_spi
SDIO (Secure Digital Input Output https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/SDIO
Raspberry Pi https://www.raspberrypi.com/
Coral SoM Dev Board https://coral.ai/products/dev-board/
BeagleBone Single-Board Linux Computer https://www.beagleboard.org/boards/beaglebone-black
https://www.bluetooth.com/bluetooth-resources/intro-to-bluetooth-gap-gatt/
Genservers https://hexdocs.pm/elixir/1.12/GenServer.html
https://hexdocs.pm/ecto/Ecto.html
https://github.com/elixir-sqlite/ecto_sqlite3
https://github.com/nerves-livebook/nerves_livebook

Special Guest: Connor Rigby.

Zigler: Zig NIFs for Elixir with Isaac Yonemoto May 29, 2025

Show notes

In the Season 14 premiere, hosts Dan Ivovich and Sundi Myint chat with Isaac Yonemoto, creator of the Zigler library, to explore how Zigler brings Zig’s performance and safety to Elixir through Native Implemented Functions (NIFs). Isaac walks through the core design of Zigler and how it auto-generates the Elixir-to-Zig bridge, enforces type safety, and exposes multiple execution modes (normal, dirty, threaded). The conversation covers real-world applications, from SIMD-powered token selection for LLM hardware acceleration to OTP-style fault tolerance in low-level code.

Isaac shares his own journey: stepping back from professional software work to launch a biotech startup focused on reducing drug manufacturing costs while continuing to maintain Zigler and even leveraging Elixir for bioinformatics pipelines.

Topics discussed in this episode:

What is the Zigler library and what does it do?
What does it mean to run a "dirty NIF"?
Async mode is temporarily removed from Zig (therefore, yielding NIFs is temporarily deprecated in Zigler)
Zigler’s three execution modes (normal, dirty, and threaded) and how you switch modes with a single config change
Isaac’s journey from professional software work to launching a biotech startup
How Isaac leverages Elixir in bioinformatics pipelines at his startup
LLM hardware acceleration using Zigler NIFs and SIMD-powered token picking
Fault-tolerant load balancing of NIF workloads via OTP principles
Transparent handling and recovery from hardware failures through monitoring
Potential future memory-safety features in Zig and their implications
The Elixir-based borrow-checker prototype: purpose and design
Unit-checking for scientific computations to enforce correctness
New OS support in Zigler 0.14: macOS, Windows, and FreeBSD
Inline Zig code authoring directly within Elixir modules
Isaac's commitment to maintain Zigler through its 1.0 release (...and beyond?)

Links mentioned:

https://github.com/E-xyza/zigler
https://github.com/ziglang/zig
https://vidalalabs.com/
Zig Programming Language: https://ziglang.org/
https://obsidian.md/
https://hexdocs.pm/elixir/macros.html
https://erlang.org/documentation/doc-4.7.3/doc/extensions/macros.html
A Deep Dive Into the Elixir AST: https://dorgan.ar/posts/2021/04/the_elixir_ast/
https://www.erlang.org/doc/system/nif.html
https://nodejs.org/en
Llama Open-Source LLM: https://www.llama.com/
Mixtral Open-Source LLM: https://mistral.ai/news/mixtral-of-experts
https://Fly.io
SIMD: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Single_instruction,_multiple_data
https://opentrons.com/
CI/CD: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CI/CD
https://hexdocs.pm/zigler/Zig.html
http://www.x.com/DNAutics
https://bsky.app/profile/dnautics.bsky.social

Building an Open Vehicle Control System using Elixir and Nerves with Marc, Thibault, and Loïc Dec 26, 2024

Show notes

For the Season 13 finale, Elixir Wizards Dan and Charles are joined by Spin42 Engineers Marc Lainez, Thibault Poncelet, and Loïc Vigneron to discuss their work retrofitting a 2007 VW Polo and creating an Open Vehicle Control System (OVCS). Using Elixir, Nerves, and Raspberry Pis, the team is reimagining vehicle technology to extend the lifespan of older cars and reduce waste—all while making the process approachable and open source.

The Spin42 team shares the technical details behind OVCS and how they use Elixir and Nerves to interact with the CAN bus and build a Vehicle Management System (VMS) to coordinate various vehicle components. They dive into the challenges of reverse engineering CAN messages, designing a distributed architecture with Elixir processes, and ensuring safety with fail-safe modes and emergency shutoffs.

Beyond the technical, the team discusses their motivation for the project—upgrading older vehicles with modern features to keep them on the road, building an open-source platform to share their findings with others, and above all-- to just have fun. They explore potential applications for OVCS in boats, construction equipment, and other vehicles, while reflecting on the hurdles of certifying the system for road use.

If you’ve ever wondered how Elixir and Nerves can drive innovation beyond software, this episode is packed with insights into automotive computing, hardware development, and the collaborative potential of open-source projects.

Topics Discussed in this Episode:

Retrofitting a 2007 VW Polo with electric engines and modern tech
Building an open-source Vehicle Control System (OVCS) using Elixir and Nerves
Leveraging Elixir to interact with the CAN bus and parse proprietary messages
Designing a Vehicle Management System (VMS) to coordinate vehicle components
Developing custom hardware for CAN communication
Creating a YAML-based DSL for CAN message and frame descriptions
Building a distributed architecture using Elixir processes
Ensuring safety with fail-safe modes and emergency shutoffs
Using Flutter and Nerves to build a custom infotainment system
Exploring autonomous driving features with a ROS2 bridge
Developing remote control functionality with a Mavlink transmitter
Testing OVCS features at scale with a Traxxas RC car (OVCS Mini)
Challenges of certifying OVCS for road use and meeting regulatory requirements
Encouraging community contributions to expand OVCS functionality
Balancing open-source projects with contract work to sustain development
The fun and fulfillment of experimenting with Elixir beyond traditional applications

Links mentioned:

https://www.spin42.com/
https://nerves-project.org/
Quadcopter https://github.com/Spin42/elicopter
https://github.com/linux-can/can-utils
https://docs.kernel.org/networking/can.html
https://github.com/open-vehicle-control-system/cantastic
https://github.com/commaai/opendbc
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAN_bus#CAN_FD
https://comma.ai/
https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/CAN_FD
https://webkit.org/wpe/
https://docs.nvidia.com/jetson/archives/r35.4.1/DeveloperGuide/text/SD/WindowingSystems/WestonWayland.html
https://buildroot.org/
https://vuejs.org/
https://flutter.dev/
https://github.com/smartrent/elixir_flutter_embedder
https://www.raspberrypi.com/products/raspberry-pi-5/
The Rabbit Pickup https://www.hemmings.com/stories/value-guide-1980-83-volkswagen-pickup
https://www.expresslrs.org/software/mavlink
https://industrial-training-master.readthedocs.io/en/melodic/_source/session7/ROS1-ROS2-bridge.html
https://github.com/ros2/rcl
https://github.com/open-vehicle-control-system/traxxas
Contact Marc, Thibault, and Loïc: info@spin42.com

Special Guests: Loïc Vigneron, Marc Lainez, and Thibault Poncelet.

Creating Horizon: Deploy Elixir Phoenix Apps on FreeBSD with Jim Freeze Dec 19, 2024

Show notes

The Elixir Wizards welcome Jim Freeze, organizer of ElixirConf and creator of the Horizon library. Jim shares his journey from organizing Ruby conferences to founding and growing ElixirConf into the community cornerstone it is today. He reflects on the challenges of running a major conference, how COVID-19 shaped the event, and why the talks remain an evergreen resource for the Elixir ecosystem.

We discuss Horizon, Jim’s deployment library for Elixir and Phoenix applications with Postgres on FreeBSD. Driven by a need for simplicity and cost-effectiveness, Jim explains how Horizon minimizes external dependencies while delivering fault-tolerant and streamlined setups. He compares it to tools like Fly, Terraform, and Ansible, highlighting its low cognitive load and flexibility—key benefits for developers seeking more control over their deployment environments.

Jim also unpacks the broader value of understanding and customizing your deployment stack rather than relying solely on managed services. He discusses the benefits of using FreeBSD, including its stability, security, and performance advantages, as well as its robust ZFS file system.

Jim emphasizes the importance of coherent deployment workflows, community collaboration, and contributions to open-source projects like Horizon. He invites listeners to explore Horizon, share feedback, and own their deployments.

Topics discussed in this episode:

Jim Freeze’s background organizing RubyConf and founding ElixirConf
Reducing reliance on managed services and external dependencies
Simplifying deployments with minimal tools and lower cognitive overhead
The trade-offs of cutting-edge tools vs. stable, well-documented solutions
The importance of customizing deployment tools to meet specific needs
Addressing challenges with Tailwind compatibility
Streamlining the FreeBSD installation process for Horizon users
Community collaboration: contributing to open-source tools
Jim’s vision for Horizon: PKI support, hot standby features, and serverless potential

Special Guest: Jim Freeze.

Telemetry & Observability for Elixir Apps at Cars.com with Zack Kayser & Ethan Gunderson Dec 12, 2024

Show notes

Zack Kayser and Ethan Gunderson, Software Engineers at Cars Commerce, join the Elixir Wizards to share their expertise on telemetry and observability in large-scale systems. Drawing from their experience at Cars.com—a platform handling high traffic and concurrent users—they discuss the technical and organizational challenges of scaling applications, managing microservices, and implementing effective observability practices.

The conversation highlights the pivotal role observability plays in diagnosing incidents, anticipating system behavior, and asking unplanned questions of a system. Zack and Ethan explore tracing, spans, and the unique challenges introduced by LiveView deployments and WebSocket connections.

They also discuss the benefits of OpenTelemetry as a vendor-agnostic instrumentation tool, the significance of Elixir’s telemetry library, and practical steps for developers starting their observability journey. Additionally, Zack and Ethan introduce their upcoming book, Instrumenting Elixir Applications, which will offer guidance on integrating telemetry and tracing into Elixir projects.

Topics Discussed:

Cars.com’s transition to Elixir and scaling solutions
The role of observability in large-scale systems
Uncovering insights by asking unplanned system questions
Managing high-traffic and concurrent users with Elixir
Diagnosing incidents and preventing recurrence using telemetry
Balancing data collection with storage constraints
Sampling strategies for large data volumes
Tracing and spans in observability
LiveView’s influence on deployments and WebSocket behavior
Mitigating downstream effects of socket reconnections
Contextual debugging for system behavior insights
Observability strategies for small vs. large-scale apps
OpenTelemetry for vendor-agnostic instrumentation
Leveraging OpenTelemetry contrib libraries for easy setup
Elixir’s telemetry library as an ecosystem cornerstone
Tracing as the first step in observability
Differentiating observability from business analytics
Profiling with OpenTelemetry Erlang project tools
The value of profiling for performance insights
Making observability tools accessible and impactful for developers

Links Mentioned

https://www.carscommerce.inc/
https://www.cars.com/
https://hexdocs.pm/telemetry/readme.html
https://kubernetes.io/
https://github.com/ninenines/cowboy
https://hexdocs.pm/bandit/Bandit.html
https://hexdocs.pm/broadway/Broadway.html
https://hexdocs.pm/oban/Oban.html
https://www.dynatrace.com/
https://www.jaegertracing.io/
https://newrelic.com/
https://www.datadoghq.com/
https://www.honeycomb.io/
https://fly.io/phoenix-files/how-phoenix-liveview-form-auto-recovery-works/
https://www.elastic.co/
https://opentelemetry.io/
https://opentelemetry.io/docs/languages/erlang/
https://opentelemetry.io/docs/concepts/signals/traces/
https://opentelemetry.io/docs/specs/otel/logs/
https://github.com/runfinch/finch
https://hexdocs.pm/telemetry_metrics/Telemetry.Metrics.html
https://opentelemetry.io/blog/2024/state-profiling
https://www.instrumentingelixir.com/
https://prometheus.io/
https://www.datadoghq.com/dg/monitor/ts/statsd/
https://x.com/kayserzl
https://github.com/zkayser
https://bsky.app/profile/ethangunderson.com
https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-collector-contrib

Special Guests: Ethan Gunderson and Zack Kayser.

Scaling the Daylite Apple-Native CRM Using Elixir with AJ Dec 05, 2024

Show notes

AJ (Alykhan Jetha), CEO and CTO of Marketcircle, joins the Elixir Wizards to share his experience building and evolving Daylite, their award-winning CRM and business productivity app for Apple users. He details his experiences as a self-taught programmer and how Marketcircle has navigated pivots, challenges, and opportunities since its founding in 1999.

AJ explains why they migrated Daylite’s backend to Elixir, focusing on their sync engine, which demands high concurrency and fault tolerance. He highlights how Elixir has improved performance, reduced cloud costs, and simplified development with its approachable syntax and productive workflows.

The conversation also touches on the technical hurdles of deploying native apps for Apple devices and the potential for integrating new technologies like LiveView Native to streamline cross-platform development.

For technical founders, AJ emphasizes the importance of leveraging your strengths (“superpowers”), staying deeply connected to the development process, and finding stability in tools like Elixir amidst a rapidly evolving tech ecosystem. He also shares Marketcircle’s roadmap for migrating more customers to Elixir-powered systems and explores the potential for new features in their native apps.

Tune in for insights on building resilient systems, navigating technical and business challenges, and how Elixir is shaping Marketcircle’s future.