In this engaging discussion, Jim Freeze, organizer of ElixirConf and creator of the Horizon library, shares his journey from Ruby to Elixir. He discusses the evolution of ElixirConf, shaped by community input and the challenges of COVID-19. Jim details Horizon's design for deploying Elixir apps on FreeBSD, emphasizing simplicity and minimal dependencies. He highlights FreeBSD's security and performance benefits, encouraging developers to take charge of their deployment stacks. Community engagement and open-source contributions are underlined as essential for growth and innovation.
44:48
forum Ask episode
web_stories AI Snips
view_agenda Chapters
auto_awesome Transcript
info_circle Episode notes
question_answer ANECDOTE
ElixirConf Origins
Jim Freeze attended the first 15 Ruby conferences and helped organize Lone Star Ruby Conference for years.
Inspired by a nine-minute Elixir video, he founded ElixirConf, receiving a "bananas award" for his efforts.
insights INSIGHT
Conference Organization Challenges
Conference attendees are often unaware of the extensive work involved in organizing events.
COVID-19 shifted expectations towards online content, influencing pricing and conference duration.
insights INSIGHT
Evergreen ElixirConf Talks
Talks from ElixirConf have significant evergreen value and serve as an important learning resource.
Many hours of content are available online, though YouTube views aren't in the millions.
Get the Snipd Podcast app to discover more snips from this episode
The Elixir Wizards welcome Jim Freeze, organizer of ElixirConf and creator of the Horizon library. Jim shares his journey from organizing Ruby conferences to founding and growing ElixirConf into the community cornerstone it is today. He reflects on the challenges of running a major conference, how COVID-19 shaped the event, and why the talks remain an evergreen resource for the Elixir ecosystem.
We discuss Horizon, Jim’s deployment library for Elixir and Phoenix applications with Postgres on FreeBSD. Driven by a need for simplicity and cost-effectiveness, Jim explains how Horizon minimizes external dependencies while delivering fault-tolerant and streamlined setups. He compares it to tools like Fly, Terraform, and Ansible, highlighting its low cognitive load and flexibility—key benefits for developers seeking more control over their deployment environments.
Jim also unpacks the broader value of understanding and customizing your deployment stack rather than relying solely on managed services. He discusses the benefits of using FreeBSD, including its stability, security, and performance advantages, as well as its robust ZFS file system.
Jim emphasizes the importance of coherent deployment workflows, community collaboration, and contributions to open-source projects like Horizon. He invites listeners to explore Horizon, share feedback, and own their deployments.
Topics discussed in this episode:
Jim Freeze’s background organizing RubyConf and founding ElixirConf
Reducing reliance on managed services and external dependencies
Simplifying deployments with minimal tools and lower cognitive overhead
The trade-offs of cutting-edge tools vs. stable, well-documented solutions
The importance of customizing deployment tools to meet specific needs
Addressing challenges with Tailwind compatibility
Streamlining the FreeBSD installation process for Horizon users
Community collaboration: contributing to open-source tools
Jim’s vision for Horizon: PKI support, hot standby features, and serverless potential
Elixir Wizards