Elixir Mentor

Isaak Tsalicoglou on REST API Design

In this episode of the Elixir Mentor Podcast, I chat with Isaak Tsalicoglou, author of Elixir Software Engineering. Isaak shares hard-won lessons from building production Elixir API clients, covering validation strategies, error handling approaches, authentication flows, and architectural patterns that actually work in the real world. We explore Isaak's journey back into programming through building internal tools for his family's industrial equipment business, and how that led to writing a comprehensive guide on REST API client development. He explains his approach to request validation, why he ultimately decided against using Ecto schemas for API responses, and the importance of resisting unnecessary complexity in software architecture. The conversation covers practical API design topics including how to structure clean RESTful routes, avoiding tight coupling between APIs and UIs, and finding the right balance between over-serving and under-serving data. Isaak also shares his thoughts on LLM-assisted development, explaining why he prefers using AI as a code reviewer rather than fully automated coding, and discusses his self-hosting infrastructure setup for privacy-conscious applications. This episode offers valuable insights for anyone building API clients in Elixir or thinking critically about software architecture decisions and their long-term implications. Resources Mentioned: - Elixir Software Engineering: https://leanpub.com/elixir-software-engineering [https://leanpub.com/elixir-software-engineering] Connect with Isaak: - X: https://x.com/realMrLaminar [https://x.com/realMrLaminar] - LinkTree: https://linktr.ee/tisaakx [https://linktr.ee/tisaakx] SUPPORT ELIXIR MENTOR - Elixir Mentor: https://elixirmentor.com/?utm_source=elixir-mentor [https://elixirmentor.com/?utm_source=elixir-mentor]

José Valim on Tidewave

In this episode of the Elixir Mentor Podcast, I chat with Elixir creator José Valim about Tidewave, the AI coding agent that lives inside your web framework. José shares the journey from falling in love with MCP to discovering its limitations, and how Tidewave solves the copy-paste problem that plagues AI-assisted development. We explore how Tidewave integrates directly with your browser to eliminate tedious workflows, automatically detecting exceptions and validating changes without manual intervention. José explains why the tool now supports Phoenix, Rails, Django, FastAPI, Flask, and Next.js, and how building one feature benefits all frameworks simultaneously. The conversation covers prompting strategies, context management, and the unique challenges of building Tidewave with Tidewave. José offers candid insights on why MCP has fundamental limitations for user experience, the security concerns around AI agents, and why Elixir's message-passing architecture makes it ideal for building agentic systems. We discuss the evolving type system in Elixir, code review workflows with AI, and the upcoming Tidewave features including multi-element inspection and symbol search. The episode concludes with José's perspective on transitioning from open source maintainer to product owner, collecting user feedback through Discord, and exciting developments with Tauri for building desktop applications with Elixir. This conversation provides valuable insights for developers interested in AI-powered tooling and the future of web development. Resources Mentioned: - Code Benchmark: https://github.com/Tencent-Hunyuan/AutoCodeBenchmark [https://github.com/Tencent-Hunyuan/AutoCodeBenchmark] Connect with José: - X: https://x.com/josevalim [https://x.com/josevalim] - Tidewave: https://tidewave.ai [https://tidewave.ai] - Dashbit: https://dashbit.co [https://dashbit.co] SUPPORT ELIXIR MENTOR - Elixir Mentor: https://elixirmentor.com [https://elixirmentor.com/?utm_source=elixir-mentor]

Alex Koutmos on EagleMMS

In this episode, I chat with Alex Koutmos, author of Elixir Patterns and creator of numerous open source libraries, about building EagleMMS—a SaaS platform helping collision repair shops accurately calculate consumable costs for vehicle repairs. Alex shares his journey from two failed startups to building a profitable business with nearly a thousand customers. We discuss the outdated methods insurance companies use to calculate repair costs, the brutal reality of door-to-door sales, and how Alex's brother (a licensed auto body technician and appraiser) became his co-founder and sales partner. Alex explains why customer support load is heavier than expected when dealing with insurance company pushback and how they coach shops through negotiations. On the technical side, Alex walks through his evolution from a Vue SPA to a full LiveView application, building PWAs that work seamlessly on mobile, and why Elixir has never been a bottleneck for his business needs. We cover ETS caching strategies for performance, database backup lessons learned the hard way, and why he refuses to do standups. Alex also previews his upcoming books on financial analytics with Explorer and Scholar, plus a Nerves book entering beta soon. Connect with Alex: - X: https://x.com/akoutmos [https://x.com/akoutmos] - Books: https://akoutmos.com/top/books/ [https://akoutmos.com/top/books/] - EagleMMS: https://eaglemms.com/ [https://eaglemms.com/] SUPPORT ELIXIR MENTOR - Elixir Mentor: https://elixirmentor.com [https://elixirmentor.com/?utm_source=elixir-mentor]

Nathan Hessler on ExMex & engineering culture

In this episode of the Elixir Mentor Podcast, I chat with Nathan Hessler, an Elixir developer and organizer of the ExMex conference in Austin. Nathan shares his experience launching a successful regional conference just two weeks prior, offering invaluable insights for anyone considering organizing their own tech event. We explore the intricate logistics of conference planning, from choosing the perfect venue to managing sponsorships and hidden costs. Nathan reveals why he opted for a single-track format at Capital Factory, how he approached speaker selection to promote new voices in the community, and the creative process behind ExMex's clever Texas-themed naming convention. Our conversation shifts to Nathan's decade of experience in engineering leadership, where he shares wisdom on building healthy engineering cultures. We discuss the critical soft skills needed for technical management, strategies for creating trust and respect within teams, and how to foster environments where constructive debate thrives. Nathan emphasizes that the best engineering teams aren't built on shared hobbies but on mutual respect and the ability to engage in productive disagreement. The episode concludes with practical advice for aspiring conference organizers, including the importance of talking to other organizers, loving your speakers, and celebrating the unique character of your location. Nathan also reveals plans for RBQ, his upcoming Ruby conference scheduled for March 2025, continuing his mission to strengthen the Austin tech community through meaningful in-person connections. Resources Mentioned: - ExMex Conference: https://exmexconf.com/ [https://exmexconf.com/] - RBQ Conference: Upcoming Ruby conference in Austin (March 2025) - Capital Factory: Conference venue in Austin Connect with Nathan: - LinkedIn: https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanhessler/ [https://www.linkedin.com/in/nathanhessler/] - Website: https://hesslerconsulting.com/ [https://hesslerconsulting.com/] - ExMex: https://exmexconf.com/ [https://exmexconf.com/] SUPPORT ELIXIR MENTOR - Elixir Mentor: https://elixirmentor.com/?utm_source=elixir-mentor [https://elixirmentor.com/?utm_source=elixir-mentor] - Discord: https://elixirmentor.com/discord [https://elixirmentor.com/discord]

Daniil Popov on CyanView

In this episode of the Elixir Mentor Podcast, I sit down with Daniil Popov to discuss CyanView, a system that brings Phoenix LiveView to embedded devices for professional video production. We examine the challenges of creating unified camera control systems that work across 27+ different protocols from manufacturers like Sony, Canon, and RED. Daniil shares how CyanView enables real-time camera shading for major broadcast events including the Olympics, Super Bowl, and Le Mans races. We discuss the technical implementation of LiveView on resource-constrained 32-bit ARM processors, managing distributed systems with MQTT, and solving complex problems like socket reconnection and performance optimization on embedded devices. Our conversation covers the unique advantages of using Elixir for embedded systems, from binary pattern matching for protocol reverse engineering to supervision trees for fault tolerance. Daniil explains how they utilize nearly 80% of Elixir's capabilities—far more than typical web applications—including NIFs for C integration, custom FPGA modules for color correction, and practical approaches to creating responsive interfaces on limited hardware. The episode wraps up with discussion of the future of camera control technology, the challenges of working with proprietary protocols, and why Elixir's actor model and distributed computing capabilities make it uniquely suited for this complex problem space. Whether you're interested in embedded systems, LiveView applications, or the intersection of hardware and software, this conversation offers valuable perspectives on pushing Elixir beyond traditional web development. Resources Mentioned: - CyanView:https://cyanview.com/ [https://cyanview.com/] - Phoenix LiveView Documentation - MQTT Protocol and Mosquitto - Burrito and Tauri for Binary Compilation Connect with Daniil: - X/Twitter:https://x.com/mrpopov_com [https://x.com/mrpopov_com] SUPPORT ELIXIR MENTOR - Elixir Mentor:https://elixirmentor.com/?utm_source=elixir-mentor [https://elixirmentor.com/?utm_source=elixir-mentor]