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Home > Programming > Programming Language > Learning Elixir
Learning Elixir
Learning Elixir

Learning Elixir: Unveil many hidden gems of programming functionally by taking the foundational steps with Elixir

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Learning Elixir

Chapter 2. Elixir Basics – Foundational Steps toward Functional Programming

In the previous chapter, we talked about functional programming, installed Elixir, and tried a few elementary examples.

In this chapter, we are going to go into depth on the syntax and basic built-in types and operators of Elixir (and implicitly, Erlang). We are going to explore some more structural elements of Elixir code and begin our discussion of pattern matching.

Everything is an expression

We have hinted at this concept in the previous chapter, but let's discuss it in more detail here.

In Elixir, there are no statements. Everything is an expression. Let's break this down. Statements typically refer to instructions where the programmer specifies to the computer or runtime to perform some action. This action could, for example, add two numbers together and assign the value to a variable. Or, it could instruct the machine to print data—strings, numbers, and bits—to the console. Or, it could instruct the machine to make a remote connection to another machine and request a web page. These actions may have ephemeral results—the value of the variable, output text on the screen, and page data from the request. But in all of these examples, the code, itself, which instructs the performance of such actions, does not necessarily, nor inherently return anything.

To contrast this to expressions, we note that we can still do all...

A short introduction to types

Like most programming languages, Elixir has its fair share of numerical, boolean, character, and collection types. It also has some extra types, namely, atoms and binaries. In this chapter, we will see how all of these types work. However, let's start our discussion with numerical types.

Numerical types

Numerical types include the obvious integers. For example, in the interactive prompt (iex), we can enter a few basic numbers:

iex(1)> 42
42

We can also do some basic arithmetic with numbers, of course:

iex(2)> 42 + 5
47
iex(3)> 6 * 7
42
iex(4)> 42 - 10
32
iex(5) 42 / 6
7.0

So, addition, subtraction, and multiplication work as we expect. Division, however, did what is typically called implicit type widening or implicit type casting. That is, we took two integer types and converted it into a floating type through division. In fact, the / operator will always return a floating point type. If you want an integer type back, you can use the div and rem...

Invariable variables and pattern matching

One of the most misunderstood concepts in functional programming is that of assignment. Or, said another way, assignment doesn't exist.

Let's try to dispel this misconceived idea. In iex, we might see some code like this:

iex(1)> a = 2
2
iex(2)> a + 4
6

We may be tempted to explain the preceding code snippet with something like, "So we assign 2 to a and then add 4 to a giving us 6." However, in Elixir, this is incorrect. Elixir does not define = as an assignment operator, but rather a match operator. That is, Elixir attempts to match the left side of the = operator to that of the right.

In step 1, for Elixir to make the match succeed, we bind the value of 2 to the variable, a. Then later, when we perform the addition, we are substituting 2 for a, yielding an expression that looks like 2 + 4, which obviously equals 6.

This is a really different way to think about what is going on internally. Take a moment to let it sink in.

Back...

Elixir structure

So far, we haven't seen much more than tiny snippets, demonstrating a fraction of the syntax of Elixir. Now we are going to go into more detail and look at some more in-depth examples.

We will start with what may be considered a functional language's real "hello world", the map function.

Note

Note that this example will use some concepts that we are going to go into more detail in the next few chapters.

The map function essentially takes a function and a list, and applies the function to each element in the list. Ideally, the application of one element in the list does not depend or effect any other application of any other element. Thus, this is usually something that can be trivial (in concept) to parallelize. However, very few languages make it so easy as the functional languages, and in particular, Elixir.

Using what we know now (and some stuff we haven't covered), here's how we might write our own map function:

defmodule MyMap do
  def map(...

Elixir files

Elixir uses two files, .ex for compiled code and .exs for scripts. They must both be UTF-8 encoded. We will go over .ex some more when we introduce mix in the next chapter. But for now, let's discuss .exs a little more.

We can write all the Elixir code we have shown so far into a script (we won't though, there is just a small subset) and then we can use the interactive interpreter to load up our script and run it.

For example, we can put the MyMap code from earlier into a script:

defmodule MyMap do
  def map([], _) do
    []
  end

  def map([h|t], f) do
    [f.(h) | map(t, f)]
  end
end

square = fn x -> x * x end
MyMap.map([1, 2, 3, 4, 5], square)

Go ahead and save it as mymap.exs. Launch a terminal and use the cd command to navigate to the directory that you saved your script in and then launch iex.

Once in iex, we will use import_file/1 to import and launch our script.

In your iex, type h(import_file/1) to get the documentation of import_file/1:

iex(1)> h(import_file...

Everything is an expression

We have hinted at this concept in the previous chapter, but let's discuss it in more detail here.

In Elixir, there are no statements. Everything is an expression. Let's break this down. Statements typically refer to instructions where the programmer specifies to the computer or runtime to perform some action. This action could, for example, add two numbers together and assign the value to a variable. Or, it could instruct the machine to print data—strings, numbers, and bits—to the console. Or, it could instruct the machine to make a remote connection to another machine and request a web page. These actions may have ephemeral results—the value of the variable, output text on the screen, and page data from the request. But in all of these examples, the code, itself, which instructs the performance of such actions, does not necessarily, nor inherently return anything.

To contrast this to expressions, we note that we can still do all of these things, however, each instruction...

A short introduction to types

Like most programming languages, Elixir has its fair share of numerical, boolean, character, and collection types. It also has some extra types, namely, atoms and binaries. In this chapter, we will see how all of these types work. However, let's start our discussion with numerical types.

Numerical types

Numerical types include the obvious integers. For example, in the interactive prompt (iex), we can enter a few basic numbers:

iex(1)> 42
42

We can also do some basic arithmetic with numbers, of course:

iex(2)> 42 + 5
47
iex(3)> 6 * 7
42
iex(4)> 42 - 10
32
iex(5) 42 / 6
7.0

So, addition, subtraction, and multiplication work as we expect. Division, however, did what is typically called implicit type widening or implicit type casting. That is, we took two integer types and converted it into a floating type through division. In fact, the / operator will always return a floating point type. If you want an integer type back, you can use the div and rem functions...

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Key benefits

  • Explore the functional paradigms of programming with Elixir through use of helpful examples
  • Concise step-by-step instructions to teach you difficult technical concepts
  • Bridge the gap between functional programming and Elixir

Description

Elixir, based on Erlang’s virtual machine and ecosystem, makes it easier to achieve scalability, concurrency, fault tolerance, and high availability goals that are pursued by developers using any programming language or programming paradigm. Elixir is a modern programming language that utilizes the benefits offered by Erlang VM without really incorporating the complex syntaxes of Erlang. Learning to program using Elixir will teach many things that are very beneficial to programming as a craft, even if at the end of the day, the programmer isn't using Elixir. This book will teach you concepts and principles important to any complex, scalable, and resilient application. Mostly, applications are historically difficult to reason about, but using the concepts in this book, they will become easy and enjoyable. It will teach you the functional programing ropes, to enable them to create better and more scalable applications, and you will explore how Elixir can help you achieve new programming heights. You will also glean a firm understanding of basics of OTP and the available generic, provided functionality for creating resilient complex systems. Furthermore, you will learn the basics of metaprogramming: modifying and extending Elixir to suite your needs.

Who is this book for?

This book targets developers new to Elixir, as well as Erlang, in order to make them feel comfortable in functional programming with Elixir, thus enabling them to develop more scalable and fault-tolerant applications. Although no knowledge of Elixir is assumed, some programming experience with mainstream Object-Oriented programming languages such a Ruby, Python, Java, C# would be beneficial.

What you will learn

  • Explore Elixir to create resilient, scalable applications
  • Create fault-tolerant applications
  • Become better acquainted with Elixir code and see how it is structured to build and develop functional programs
  • Learn the basics of functional programming
  • Gain an understanding of effective OTP principles
  • Design program-distributed applications and systems
  • Write and create branching statements in Elixir
  • Learn to do more with less using Elixir s metaprogramming
  • Be familiar with the facilities Elixir provides for metaprogramming, macros, and extending the Elixir language

Product Details

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Publication date : Jan 05, 2016
Length: 286 pages
Edition : 1st
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781785883477
Category :
Programming
Languages :
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Concepts :
Programming Language

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Publication date : Jan 05, 2016
Length: 286 pages
Edition : 1st
Language : English
ISBN-13 : 9781785883477
Category :
Programming
Languages :
Elixir
Concepts :
Programming Language

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Table of Contents

10 Chapters
1. Introducing Elixir – Thinking Functionally Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
1. Introducing Elixir – Thinking Functionally
Why functional?
Installing Elixir
Hello, World!
Exercises
Summary
2. Elixir Basics – Foundational Steps toward Functional Programming Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
2. Elixir Basics – Foundational Steps toward Functional Programming
Everything is an expression
A short introduction to types
Invariable variables and pattern matching
Elixir structure
Elixir files
Exercises
Summary
3. Modules and Functions – Creating Functional Building Blocks Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
3. Modules and Functions – Creating Functional Building Blocks
Modules
Anonymous functions
Named functions
Calling functions
Grabbing functions
When patterns aren't enough for matching
Functional algorithms for everyday problems
Mix – the ladle of Elixir
Building functional projects
More to do about modules
Testing with comments
Exercises
Summary
4. Collections and Stream Processing Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
4. Collections and Stream Processing
Keywords, maps, and dictionaries
Flow-based programming
Stream processing and Elixir
Exercises
Summary
5. Control Flow – Occasionally You Need to Branch Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
5. Control Flow – Occasionally You Need to Branch
Branching with Elixir
Examples using branching
Exception handling
Determinism
References
Exercises
Summary
6. Concurrent Programming – Using Processes to Conquer Concurrency Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
6. Concurrent Programming – Using Processes to Conquer Concurrency
Parallel computation and concurrent computation
Erlang processes and OS processes
Basics of Elixir process
Applications
Summary
7. OTP – A Poor Name for a Rich Framework Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
7. OTP – A Poor Name for a Rich Framework
Applications
Gen(eric) behaviours
Supervisors
Exercises
Summary
8. Distributed Elixir – Taking Concurrency to the Next Node Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
8. Distributed Elixir – Taking Concurrency to the Next Node
Obligatory discussion about distributed computing
Another short discussion about networks
Distributed computing with Elixir
Summary
9. Metaprogramming – Doing More with Less Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
9. Metaprogramming – Doing More with Less
Behaviours and protocols
Abstract syntax trees
Our first macros
Context and macro hygiene
Macro examples
Domain-specific languages
With great power...
Exercises
Summary
Going forward
Index Chevron down icon Chevron up icon
Index

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Mr. T. Browne May 25, 2017
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I really like this book because if fits my brain better than all the other Elixir books (I own, literally, all of them). This one is great because it's ultra simple, but also does not assume that you're a complete programming newby. It doesn't go into long detail about what a linked list actually is, for example. It just tells you that Elixir has linked lists (denoted by [x, x, x]). It assumes you know what a linked list is, and its O(n) seek characteristics. Basically this is a very good book if you're coming from another (traditional) programming language. It's gentle with the functional aspects and the syntax, but it's not pedantic and long winded on computer science concepts -> it assumes you're familiar with stuff already.I also like the more "conceptual" approach that this book takes, rather than diving into some irrelevant "project" that gets filled out chapter by chapter as the Pragmatic Programmers books tend to do. It speaks to the design oriented mind, as opposed to the osmosis-oriented mind.
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Profile icon Kenny Ballou
Kenny Ballou
Kenny Ballou is a life-long learner, developer, mathematician, and overall thinker. He enjoys solving problems, learning about technologies, and discussing new and different ideas. He graduated from the Boise State University, majoring in applied mathematics, and minoring in computer science. He has been programming professionally for nearly a decade, and is currently working as a software developer for an analytics company in the Boise, Idaho area. Apart from developing professionally, he is active in the open source community, contributing where he can. When he is not developing, he enjoys reading, learning, and shredding the local mountains. You can read more from him on his blog at https://kennyballou.com, check out his code on GitHub at https://github.com/kennyballou/, and follow him on Twitter at @kennyballou.
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Profile icon Kenneth Ballou
Kenneth Ballou
LinkedIn icon Github icon
Kenny Ballou is a life-long learner, developer, mathematician, and overall thinker. He enjoys solving problems, learning about technologies, and discussing new and different ideas. He graduated from the Boise State University, majoring in applied mathematics, and minoring in computer science. He has been programming professionally for nearly a decade, and is currently working as a software developer for an analytics company in the Boise, Idaho area. Apart from developing professionally, he is active in the open source community, contributing where he can. When he is not developing, he enjoys reading, learning, and shredding the local mountains. You can read more from him on his blog at https://kennyballou.com, check out his code on GitHub at https://github.com/kennyballou/, and follow him on Twitter at @kennyballou.
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Packt eBooks are a complete electronic version of the print edition, available in PDF and ePub formats. Every piece of content down to the page numbering is the same. Because we save the costs of printing and shipping the book to you, we are able to offer eBooks at a lower cost than print editions.

When you have purchased an eBook, simply login to your account and click on the link in Your Download Area. We recommend you saving the file to your hard drive before opening it.

For optimal viewing of our eBooks, we recommend you download and install the free Adobe Reader version 9.