One of the biggest reasons Elixir can power large‑scale, fault‑tolerant services is its underlying runtime – the BEAM virtual machine. The BEAM gives you a lightweight concurrency model that looks very different from threads or OS processes you might be used to. In this article we’ll explore the essential building blocks that make BEAM concurrency tick, learn how to create and coordinate processes, and see practical patterns you’ll use every day when writing real‑world applications.

Why Concurrency Matters

When a web service receives thousands of requests per second, it must keep those requests from stepping on

When you first pick up a language that embraces functional ideas, loops can feel odd. In Elixir there are no while or for statements that mutate a counter. Instead, iteration is expressed through recursion and a set of powerful higher‑order functions. This article walks you through the core concepts, shows how they’re applied in everyday code, and equips you with fresh examples you can adapt to your own projects.

Why Understanding Elixir’s Iteration Model Matters

• Predictable data flow: Since values never change in place, reasoning about code becomes easier.
• Composability: Functions that accept other functions can be

Elixir gives you several tools to make decisions and repeat work. In this article we’ll explore:

• Choosing between case and multi‑clause functions
• Using the with special form to chain operations that can fail
• Expressing loops with recursion
• Turning ordinary recursion into tail‑recursive form for unlimited iteration

Each section introduces the idea, explains why it matters, and shows fresh, real‑world examples that differ from the classic “TODO list” or “user registration” snippets you may have seen elsewhere.

Why Control Flow Matters in a Functional Language

In imperative languages, if, while, and for are the building blocks of