Real-Time Phoenix

by Stephen Bussey

Real-time applications come with real challenges—persistent connections, multi-server deployment, and strict performance requirements are just a few. Don’t try to solve these challenges by yourself—use a framework that handles them for you. Elixir and Phoenix Channels provide a solid foundation on which to build stable and scalable real-time applications. Build applications that thrive for years to come with the best practices found in this book.

Understand the magic of real-time communication by inspecting the WebSocket protocol in action. Avoid performance pitfalls early in the development lifecycle with a catalog of common problems and their solutions. Leverage GenStage to build a data pipeline that improves scalability. Break your application before your users do and deploy with confidence. Build a real-world project using solid application design and testing practices that help make future changes a breeze. Create distributed apps that can scale to many users with tools like Phoenix Tracker. Deploy and monitor your application with confidence and reduce outages.

Deliver an exceptional real-time experience to your users, with easy maintenance, reduced operational costs, and maximized performance, using Elixir and Phoenix Channels.

Genres: Programming, Technology

289 pages, Paperback

First published March 10, 2020

About the author

Steve Bussey is a software architect focused on delivering the best experience possible for sales people and also his fellow engineers. He has written and led development on real-time Elixir applications that power critical features of business software. He is passionate about sharing Elixir due to the positive impact it has had on how he designs and writes applications.

Reviews

[Toran Billups · Rating 5 out of 5]

I really enjoyed the progression through this book. It starts with a deep dive on web sockets that builds into a comprehensive look at Phoenix Channels. The ecommerce example application was well thought out and extremely practical for those looking to see the concepts in this book applied to a real software project.

The author covers deployment in a refreshing way and includes a section on load balancing and clustering. And finally, almost as a bonus, he dedicated a chapter to operating your Elixir application post deployment.

Overall it's a well written book that covers the relevant technical content without glossing over the important bits. Without a doubt this book leveled up my Phoenix but almost unexpectedly it took me deeper into the primitives that make it all possible.

[Lornah Tumuhairwe · Rating 5 out of 5]

It built up on the concepts really nicely and I enjoyed working through the Ecommerce project in the book.

The author writes about some in depth Elixir concepts I didn't come looking for, for example GenStage and deployments. Bonus points for that.

This is not a book to rush through as it contains some meaty concepts.

[Jimbonk · Rating 5 out of 5]

This is a fantastic book that covers the full spectrum of building, measuring, and deploying a Phoenix app using channels for real-time interaction. It's a great second book to read after you've already become acquainted with Phoenix.

[Daniel · Rating 5 out of 5]

I've been speeding through this since it was released last week. Its timing worked well with a project Im working on involving coordination of video streams playing in my customers browsers. It starts off with an excellent introduction and really gets into the deep parts of building with Phoenix Channels around chapter 5.

Overall I found the book to be well written and the walkthroughs to be thorough and helpful. I'm glad to see more information about building things with Channels out there, they've been part of Phoenix for years but there has not been a lot written about then outside of the official docs. They're a great tool to build with and this is a good way to get started with them.

[Stefan · Rating 5 out of 5]

exactly what you expect to get from pragprog publishing house; focused, technically relevant, showing you ways of doing things you haven't thought about; imho a must read if you are working with Elixir

[Geoff Lanotte · Rating 4 out of 5]

A really good introduction to WebSockets and Phoenix as a whole. I had hoped it would touch more on LiveView but in all, I think it handled the topics well and covered a whole lot of ground.

It is very tutorial-style with no exercises which was the only detractor IMO

[Dmitry Semenov · Rating 5 out of 5]

This book exceeded my expectations. It gives the knowledge far beyond the title.
Expertise shared in the third part of the book about running real-time apps in production is the content that you won't find in most of the guides, so I find it very valuable for everyone.

[Amos · Rating 5 out of 5]

This books is the best book I’ve seen on the power of the Phoenix framework. The lessons the Steve lays out apply to more than the framework too. I find myself reaching for little nuggets from this book. Buy it, read it, and keep it.

[Summa Smiff · Rating 4 out of 5]

Clear and thorough overview of the use of channels and websockets to create soft real time features. The final code example, an online sneaker store with limited-edition sneaker drops, was inspired.

[Hoon Wee · Rating 5 out of 5]

Must read for every Phoenix developer who cares real time features.