jack

jack

Hello there,

I’m just starting with Elixir and Phoenix.

I’m wondering if I could understand the Phoenix “life cycle” correctly so far.
A “Traditional Phoenix Application” can be described simply as:

connection
|> endpoint()
|> router()
|> pipeline()
|> controller()

I like very much the simplicity of how the book use the Elixir pipelining to explain the application flow, the code is really very well documented by itself and you don’t really need flowcharts to explain the framework.

This part is quite verbose, I’ll describe the way how I understood each “part” of the Phoenix Framework and how it uses the MVC design pattern.

Migrations → defines a table structure for a database, here you can create a table, add fields and unique indexes.
Schema → create a data structure related to a table (defined on migrations), and define functions for validations using a “changeset”.
Context → a context uses a schema and Repo to define functions and pipelines to transform and persist data.
Controller → the controller will access the context asking for functions and pipelines, and will ask view to render the correct related page.
View → defines specific functions for parsing and filtering data to be used from a Template, and will render a specified Template.
Template → the actual HTML code and front-end logic.
Router → receive request and select correct controller.

MVC → Model = Schema+Context, View = View+Template, Controller = Router+Controller

I’m trying to make it a bit more clear to me trying to have an overview by using a State Diagram.
I’m not experienced in writing State Diagrams, so we can try to just interpret it abstractly? :stuck_out_tongue_closed_eyes:
(I’m open to any corrections and tips about it)
But as I have to learn how to use State Diagrams for my current job, I’ll try to explain the app flow using it.

New users can’t upload images, so I’ll have to upload it in a third party service. You might need to click the image to see it clearly.
https://imgur.com/a/YiIaj1x

Is it correct?
Could I say that those “steps” (states) of endpoint, router and pipeline can propagate an “error” input (the application state, in this case the “connection” data structure), and so, we end in a software “Error state”, propagating the conn down the pipelining, that will end in the “View” layer?

I didn’t connected the “Controller state” in the “Error state”, but the “conn” could propagate errors on this state as well, like form validation errors… changeset. Maybe I should have connected this transition.

But my main question, apart from the overall understanding is, it’s correct to interpret the “application flow” like this? Could I say that errors occurring in the endpoint, router and pipeline will end to be rendered in the View layer as well?

Because if I hit the wrong endpoint, if I request the wrong route, or if there is any validation problem during the proper pipeline (browser/api/other), Phoenix will render a special error template to reflect that as well, so we hit the View layer without hitting “our” Controller, right?

Sorry if this reasoning is plain wrong and sounds confusing.
I do am confused and I’m quite a beginner using MVC. :sweat_smile:

Where Next? Top

Trending in Questions Top

katta
I having some trouble figuring out if I have set myself too strict of standards for my production server. Currently I can handle 75% of r...
New
achenet
Hello, I’m trying to build a basic Phoenix web-app, and I’d like to use Tailwind. However, when I launch mix phx.server, I get an error...
New
bradley
I really like the adapter patterns that ecto, nebulex, waffle, etc. use and would love find something similar for a key management servic...
New
unaware8150
Hello folks! So at work, we are seeing some situations where we have to define some “fixed” strings that are used across the codebase in...
New
Cxx-mlr
I’m working on a small exercise involving update_in/3, and I came up with this solution: data = %{ name: "Periodic Table", category:...
New
ChrisAmelia
I’ve got trouble wrapping my head around the order in which functions are called in this snippet (from Phoenix’s authentication): toke...
New
dillonoconnor
Is there any way to avoid the Hologram compiler running when using iex? It seems like the front-end code could potentially be disregarded...
New

Other Trending Topics Top

GenericJam
Edit: 2026 May 15 - This post is archived. Mob is alive!! Main docs: mob v0.7.11 — Documentation A bit of explanation for the slightly c...
New
garrison
Hobbes is a low-level distributed database for the Elixir programming language. Hobbes provides a simple, safe, and scalable storage lay...
New
budgie
A little off-topic, but I feel like people here have a good head on their shoulders. I used to be quite good at making software. Was luc...
New
KristerV
Hey. Is there anyone here who creates agents in their apps? Not talking about using agents, but creating them. I’m finding it pretty diff...
New
mudasobwa
I fully migrated to my own harness from Anthropic/Gemini and I think it’s time to share it. Welcome DSH, the DeepSeek Harness, fully writ...
New
mcass19
ExRatatui lets you cook up rich terminal UIs in Elixir, powered by Rust’s ratatui via Rustler NIFs. Build interactive terminal applicatio...
New

We're in Beta

About us Mission Statement

Options

Thread Display Mode




Thread Preview

Skip Thread Previews