Thinking Elixir Podcast 280: Dark Matter Developers
Nov 25, 2025
Discover the exciting enhancements in Elixir 1.19.3, including regex support and improved mix help. Learn how Tidewave Web has integrated Claude Code and OpenAI Codex agents for better performance. Explore Hologram's initiative to port Erlang functions to JavaScript, alongside the challenges of building one-language frontends. Dive into the new pg_large_objects library for managing large binaries with Postgres and the innovative Playwright_EX for browser automation. Finally, ponder the TIOBE Index findings and the intriguing concept of 'dark matter' developers.
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Smarter Regex And Focused Mix Help
- Elixir 1.19.3 adds /E regex modifier for easier config-file regex embedding.
- mix help now supports app:NAME to surface focused docs useful for humans and AI agents.
Keep Tidewave MCP Tools Updated
- Update and run the Tidewave MCP proxy and MCP dependency regularly to avoid broken agent integrations.
- Keep your local ACP/CLI tools in sync so Tidewave Web can leverage your installed tooling reliably.
Porting Erlang Unlocks Elixir Front-Ends
- Hologram transcompiles Elixir to JavaScript for browser UIs by porting Erlang functions to JS.
- Their runtime progress is ~34% and each ported function unlocks multiple Elixir stdlib features for front-end use.
