About The BEAM Book
The BEAM Book is a comprehensive guide to understanding the Erlang Virtual Machine (BEAM) that powers Erlang, Elixir, and other BEAM languages. Written by Happi Hacking's own experts, this book provides deep insights into the runtime system that makes fault-tolerant, concurrent systems possible.
What You'll Learn
- BEAM Architecture: Deep dive into the virtual machine's design and implementation
- Process Management: How BEAM handles millions of lightweight processes
- Memory Management: Garbage collection and memory optimization strategies
- Fault Tolerance: The supervisor tree and "let it crash" philosophy
- Performance Tuning: Profiling and optimizing BEAM applications
- Advanced Topics: Hot code loading, distribution, and clustering
Why This Book Matters
The BEAM virtual machine is the secret sauce behind some of the world's most reliable systems. Companies like WhatsApp, Discord, and Klarna rely on BEAM's unique capabilities to handle massive scale with incredible reliability.
Community Feedback
"I kept going because I wanted to understand the BEAM properly. There's value in following the real logic, not just the surface explanations."
— elric, Hacker News
"The BEAM really feels like alien tech left from a highly advanced civilization and this book dropped in at such a great timing! Bought it right away, kudos to Dr. Erik Stenman for keeping it up after two cancellations!"
— schonfinkel, Hacker News
"Bought it instantly, even if it's available online for free—I guess this way supports the author a little bit."
— techpression, Hacker News
"Plenty of documentation can be found about the JVM, but BEAM has always seemed like a bit of a mystery to me. This is great!"
— spelunker, Hacker News
"Books ask for a lot of organization in general. And books on an evolving subject never stop asking. I don't use Erlang, but for 13 years in the making, I'm getting a copy. Thank you."
— nilirl, Hacker News
Book Details
- Pages: 400+
- Publisher: HappiHacking AB
- ISBN: 978-1718503915
- Format: Paperback, eBook, PDF
- Level: Intermediate to Advanced
Get Your Copy
Available on Amazon: https://www.amazon.com/dp/9153142535
What People Are Saying
A must-read for any #erlang or #elixirlang developer.
— @lucianparvu
Recent discussion reminded me about this great book on lower‑level working of ERTS/BEAM by @erik_stenman. Highly recommended; I'll reread it myself :-)
— @sasajuric
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