Protobuf in Elixir

Protox is a great library to allow Protobuf to be used in Elixir.
While developing a span catcher for OpenTelemetry I found that I needed to decode a protobuf format message.

Here is the repo if you are interested:

https://github.com/chriseyre2000/span_eater

To construct the protobuf file I looked at the readme of opentelemetry_exporter, which pointed me to the protobuf definitions:

https://github.com/open-telemetry/opentelemetry-proto/tree/v0.11.0

I chose to simplify these into a single file (it’s not that large).

Protobuf is a wire format serializer. This means that if you send a Protobuf message any language that can use protobuf can read the message (provided that both side have the definition).

Given that this proto file has been implemented by a number of OpenTelemetry consumers it can be assumed to be stable.

iex trick: how to continue after a typo

iex is the interactive elixir tool. It’s a great repl.

Sometimes when editing you make a typo and get stuck in the edit loop.
On a new line you can use:
iex.break

This will cancel the current edit item and allow you to continue.
This means that you don’t have the shell restarting and don’t have to set up all the global state that you have been working on.

Concurrent Data Processing In Elixir (B4)

Now that the book has reached the sent to print stage I am again working through it.

Here is the repo containing the samples from the first chapter:

https://github.com/chriseyre2000/sender

The first chapter works through the simplest solution to concurrency: Tasks.
It starts with a simple slow example and step by step adds more sophistication until you get to have a Task.Supervisor watching the code.

This is one of the more elegant examples of demoing the power and simplicity of Elixir tasks that I have seen.

Referencing other module in Elixir

There are several different ways of referencing a function in another module.

The direct:

MyModule.SubModule.hello

You can also alias the module so that a shorter name can be used:

alias MyModule.SubModule
Submodule.hello

You can import a module so that all the functions are treated as local to this module:

import MyModule.SubModule
hello

You can require a module so that you can use the macros defined in that module.

You can use a module to run the __using__ function from that module in your context.

These don’t have to be at the top of the module, you can use them within a function to restrict scope (not so sure about using __using__ this way…).

These also have parameterized versions so that you can choose what to import (only some, exclude some, rename them).

This can make them seem complex …

Experimenting With Elixir in Docker

I am working on my book Elixir Function Guide. Having noticed that there are a lot of mix tasks that I did not know about (and some that my exercism.io students don’t) then I thought that I would add some details at the start of the book.

I started using mix help to list the available functions:

mix                   # Runs the default task (current: "mix run")
mix app.start         # Starts all registered apps
mix app.tree          # Prints the application tree
mix archive           # Lists installed archives
mix archive.build     # Archives this project into a .ez file
mix archive.install   # Installs an archive locally
mix archive.uninstall # Uninstalls archives
mix clean             # Deletes generated application files
mix cmd               # Executes the given command
mix compile           # Compiles source files
mix credo             # Run code analysis (use `--help` for options)
mix credo.gen.check   # Generate a new custom check for Credo
mix credo.gen.config  # Generate a new config for Credo
mix deps              # Lists dependencies and their status
mix deps.clean        # Deletes the given dependencies' files
mix deps.compile      # Compiles dependencies
mix deps.get          # Gets all out of date dependencies
mix deps.tree         # Prints the dependency tree
mix deps.unlock       # Unlocks the given dependencies
mix deps.update       # Updates the given dependencies
mix do                # Executes the tasks separated by comma
mix escript           # Lists installed escripts
mix escript.build     # Builds an escript for the project
mix escript.install   # Installs an escript locally
mix escript.uninstall # Uninstalls escripts
mix format            # Formats the given files/patterns
mix help              # Prints help information for tasks
mix hex               # Prints Hex help information
mix hex.audit         # Shows retired Hex deps for the current project
mix hex.build         # Builds a new package version locally
mix hex.config        # Reads, updates or deletes local Hex config
mix hex.docs          # Fetches or opens documentation of a package
mix hex.info          # Prints Hex information
mix hex.organization  # Manages Hex.pm organizations
mix hex.outdated      # Shows outdated Hex deps for the current project
mix hex.owner         # Manages Hex package ownership
mix hex.publish       # Publishes a new package version
mix hex.repo          # Manages Hex repositories
mix hex.retire        # Retires a package version
mix hex.search        # Searches for package names
mix hex.user          # Manages your Hex user account
mix loadconfig        # Loads and persists the given configuration
mix local             # Lists local tasks
mix local.hex         # Installs Hex locally
mix local.phx         # Updates the Phoenix project generator locally
mix local.public_keys # Manages public keys
mix local.rebar       # Installs Rebar locally
mix new               # Creates a new Elixir project
mix phx.new           # Creates a new Phoenix v1.4.0 application
mix phx.new.ecto      # Creates a new Ecto project within an umbrella project
mix phx.new.web       # Creates a new Phoenix web project within an umbrella project
mix profile.cprof     # Profiles the given file or expression with cprof
mix profile.eprof     # Profiles the given file or expression with eprof
mix profile.fprof     # Profiles the given file or expression with fprof
mix release           # Assembles a self-contained release
mix release.init      # Generates sample files for releases
mix run               # Starts and runs the current application
mix test              # Runs a project's tests
mix xref              # Prints cross reference information
iex -S mix            # Starts IEx and runs the default task

It was only then that I realised that I have a number of mix extensions installed.

I need to start with what comes out of the box.
At this point I have three choices:

  • Uninstall the extensions (these are usefull .)
  • Manually edit out the extensions (error prone)
  • Use docker

The docker option is appealing as it will allow me to test using different versions of Elixir.

Here is the simple option that allows the use of docker:

docker run -it elixir:1.10 /bin/bash

This downloads the image and runs up the container. Note that this starts with bash, rather than the default iex.

From this mix help gives the more useful list:

mix                   # Runs the default task (current: "mix run")
mix app.start         # Starts all registered apps
mix app.tree          # Prints the application tree
mix archive           # Lists installed archives
mix archive.build     # Archives this project into a .ez file
mix archive.install   # Installs an archive locally
mix archive.uninstall # Uninstalls archives
mix clean             # Deletes generated application files
mix cmd               # Executes the given command
mix compile           # Compiles source files
mix deps              # Lists dependencies and their status
mix deps.clean        # Deletes the given dependencies' files
mix deps.compile      # Compiles dependencies
mix deps.get          # Gets all out of date dependencies
mix deps.tree         # Prints the dependency tree
mix deps.unlock       # Unlocks the given dependencies
mix deps.update       # Updates the given dependencies
mix do                # Executes the tasks separated by comma
mix escript           # Lists installed escripts
mix escript.build     # Builds an escript for the project
mix escript.install   # Installs an escript locally
mix escript.uninstall # Uninstalls escripts
mix format            # Formats the given files/patterns
mix help              # Prints help information for tasks
mix loadconfig        # Loads and persists the given configuration
mix local             # Lists local tasks
mix local.hex         # Installs Hex locally
mix local.public_keys # Manages public keys
mix local.rebar       # Installs Rebar locally
mix new               # Creates a new Elixir project
mix profile.cprof     # Profiles the given file or expression with cprof
mix profile.eprof     # Profiles the given file or expression with eprof
mix profile.fprof     # Profiles the given file or expression with fprof
mix release           # Assembles a self-contained release
mix release.init      # Generates sample files for releases
mix run               # Starts and runs the current application
mix test              # Runs a project's tests
mix xref              # Prints cross reference information
iex -S mix            # Starts IEx and runs the default task

Minimalist Clustering Demo

This is based on code from a video that I have previously linked to.
However Elixir has made a few breaking changes since then.

This is going to demonstrate how to cluster two local Elixir nodes, deploy code from one to the other and then upgrade it while it is running.

You need to put the following code in a file called blabber.ex

defmodule Blabber do

  def start do

    spawn(fn -> loop(0) end)

  end

  def loop(uptime) do

    receive do

      :stop ->

        IO.puts "Shutting blabber down ..."

        exit(:normal)

      after 1000 ->

        IO.puts "Nice! #{uptime} seconds of bgu-free uptime on #{node()}."

    end

    Blabber.loop(uptime + 1)

  end

end

Next you need to start iex with a name and a cookie (in the same folder as blabber.ex):

iex --sname cat --cookie super-secret

In a second terminal start another iex session

iex --sname dog --cookie super-secret

From the first terminal connect the two nodes together:

Node.connect :"dog@MacBook-Pro"

Compile the code in the cat node:

c ("blabber.ex", ".")

We need to use this version of the compile function as by default since Elixir 1.5 the beam file is not output by default.

The process can be started on the cat node with:

Blabber.start

Now you can transfer the compiled beam file to all linked nodes using:

nl Blabber

Now from the dog node you can start the process:

Blabber.start

At this point we notice the typo in the code. It say bgu-free rather than bug-free.
Edit the source file save the change.

On the cat node recompile this:

c ("blabber.ex", ".")

This will immediately fix the problem on the cat node (and leave the count updating).

If you use:

nl Blabber

then the solution will be moved to the other node as well.

This demonstrates the simplest possible Clustering arrangement. It is simple to extend this to a move sophisticated service.

Investigating NPM Dependencies

I have been working with a number of Node projects recently.

Keeping dependencies upto date is a big time sink. I use Dependabot to help with these.

Here is a utility that I have written that allows visualisation of module dependencies: https://github.com/chriseyre2000/package_compare

It loads node_modules into a Neo4j graph database.

To use this you need to install neo4j, create a database user with a password and the Erlang OTP runtime.

Here are the important details:

Once you have run mix escript.build then you can use the following:

./package_compare path-to-the/package.json localhost neo4j_username neo4j_password

This can be run across multiple projects to compare the dependencies. Once you have loaded multiple applications you can you the simple query:

MATCH (a) RETURN a

This will allow you to find the core set of dependencies that your applications are using. If two projects have a large core then there may be a common library waiting to be extracted.

This is an example of an Elixir escript application. This takes an unusual approach with the Sips library, it uses start link itself so that the database configuration can be supplied on the command line. Normally this would be started as a dependent application and the config found from a config file.

Designing Elixir Systems With OTP – Part Three

The B2 edition of this book is out. The new chapter is dedicated to Supervisors. These are correctly described as Lifecycle components.

This is the first time that I have seen the new DynamicSupervisors being used.

Minor note the parameter in

Lifecycle/lib/mastery/boundary/quiz_session.ex for select_session/1 has changed to name from session.

Similarly for answer_question/2

The code samples now clearly state where the code is to be added.

There was a minor typo and some missing code that breaks the final iex session.

Current code can be found at: https://github.com:chriseyre2000/designing_elixir