Saša Jurić

Discovering Processes

Elixir/Erlang systems are typically powered by thousands, or sometimes even millions of processes, which, in order to work together, frequently send messages to each other. To send a message to a process, we need to obtain its process id (aka pid). In this talk I'll present various ways of achieving this seemingly simple task. Drawing from my own experience in wheel reinvention and choosing inappropriate solutions, I'll discuss strengths, weaknesses, and caveats associated with each approach. After the talk you will not only be able to find your processes - you will also be able to select the best approach for each given situation.

Talk objectives

To systematically present typical techniques that can be used in one of the most important task of almost every Elixir/Erlang based system.

Target audience

Mostly people who are just starting to explore concurrency in Elixir/Erlang. More experienced programmers might also discover some useful tips.