EMPEX NYC 2019

Learning to build solutions on top of immutable data structures requires a new way of thinking, and we've designed our workshop to get you thinking that way quickly. The course is not for complete beginners. You should be comfortable programming in some language, but what language is unimportant. People whose proficiency lies outside the functional paradigm will probably get the most out of the course, but functional programmers who are new to Elixir will find the course to be a useful survey of the main features of the Elixir ecosystem. Training does not include admission to the conference. If you would like to attend the conference, you will need to purchase a conference ticket as well.

The Elixir language and Erlang runtime provide a uniquely robust and productive environment that runs well from embedded to server. This class extends on previous Nerves training to the cloud for device/server communications and device management with NervesHub. Attendees will assemble real devices and build out the software step-by-step for a simple multi-user game with the help of the authors of Nerves.

We’ll spend the first half of the day building the device and getting comfortable with developing and debugging on Nerves. If you’ve attended previous Nerves courses, this one will have greater emphasis on networking and device provisioning. The second half transitions to managing devices with NervesHub and developing a simple companion Phoenix application.

The workshop is appropriate for beginners and expert Elixir programmers alike since it focuses more on embedded development than pure coding. Since the Nerves development is rapidly improving, even veteran embedded Elixir programmers will learn new ways of making their development cycle better. Beginners to Elixir are highly encouraged to create a couple toy projects and learn about GenServers and OTP releases beforehand.

We will be providing Raspberry Pi’s and accessories to use during the class. It is unnecessary to buy hardware. We know from past classes that many people want to use hardware that they can take home. If you would like to do this, you can buy class materials beforehand:

- Adafruit OLED Bonnet Pack for Raspberry Pi Zero - Includes Pi Zero W
- 4 GB or larger MicroSD card
- MicroUSB cable to connect the Raspberry Pi to your laptop
- NervesKey - We will have extra NervesKeys for the class

Note that the Adafruit OLED Bonnet Pack requires you to solder a header onto the Raspberry Pi Zero. The Raspberry Pi Zero WH may be available with a pre-soldered header. Rest assured, if your hardware fails, we will provide a kit for the class.

In this one-day workshop, we'll explore the distinguishing features of Haskell's type system. Haskell has several varieties of types: sum types, product types, newtypes, as well as functions over types (aka "HKTs" or "type constructors"). There is no "any" type, no "null" value, no "subtype" relationships.

This workshop is intended for people who do not have much experience with the Haskell language, and the goal will be to give a practical understanding of some of Haskell's most important features and how to start thinking in types. Please come prepared to write code. It is recommended that you have GHC installed before the workshop begins.

EMPEX, the Empire City Elixir Conference, is a sophisticated conference series for the Elixir programming language and ecosystem held in New York City. We present a single track of technical talks in a jazz club. Our goal is to bring a sense of aesthetic and fun to the growing Elixir community. We'd love for you to join us!

EMPEX NYC 2019 will be held at Subculture on May 18th, 2019. Doors will open at 9AM!