Programming Elixir (Pragprog)

Just finished this book - loved it! :003:

I’ve been reading it concurrently with Elixir In Action: I read 50% of Programming Elixir first (the language bits) and then jumped to Elixir in Action because it covers quite a bit of the same ground (especially the language basics, albeit at a faster pace) - this suits me perfectly because it saves me having to write notes; I like going over things to help ‘repeat and reinforce’ what I’ve learnt. These two books are a fantastic combo if that is your preferred learning style too.

I love how Dave holds your hand while going through the language fundamentals (quite in-depth too) - he fully explains all the related code and I feel this is really important when you are learning a new language as it stops you from feeling lost, which can put you off the language let alone a book! I think the overall pace of the book is great, especially if you are coming from another language.

If you’re wondering how it differs to EIA, it covers the language basics in more depth, as well as covering more topics (like Agents, Tasks, Sigils, etc). EIA on the other hand covers processes, OTP and deployment in more depth. Again, another reason why these two books make the perfect combo.

If you will be reading this together with EIA I recommend reading 50% of Programming Elixir first, then 100% of Elixir in Action, then finishing with the remainder of Programming Elixir (partly because it’s been updated more recently - so when you’re done you will be relatively ‘up-to-date’ :slight_smile:).

Overall, this book definitely gets a massive :023: from me! If you haven’t got it - get it! Definitely one of Dave’s best books to date.

Now… I’m off to do Dave’s online course :sunglasses:

8 Likes