I’ve been intrigued by the Elixir programming language and it’s friendly take on functional programming for some time, but have been slow to pick things up. That’s changing somewhat, thanks to some great resources I’ve found, but I’ve also found joy in deliberately taking things slow with a new programming language, versus my usual learn-it-on-the-fly-because-deadlines approach.

I usually have a hard time learning a new programming language just for the sake of learning. As a rule, I’m more project-oriented in how I tackle learning and accomplishing things. However, I don’t have an immediate need for a new programming language–Ruby is still my go-to language for my day-to-day work and project ideas, and likely will be for some time to come. However, I still want to learn more about the language and its ecosystem, and maybe even get into it at a relatively early stage.

• Elixir School: I can’t say enough nice things about Sean Callan’s concise introduction to Elixir concepts. If you’re interested in Elixir, start here first.

• Exercism: I’m firmly in the deliberate practice camp when it comes to learning to program, or just about anything else. People who know me have heard me rave about Exercism. And while I don’t have a real-world project in mind for Elixir just yet, completing the Exercism challenges here are helping me get comfortable with the tools and techniques on a smaller scale, so that when I do start a larger project, I’ll have somewhat stable footing.

  Even if you’re not learning Elixir, do yourself a favor and check out the Exercism content for whatever language you are looking to get better at, or even the ones you already think you know pretty well.

• Phoenix guides: Of course, this is all a setup to building server-side web applications with Elixir, and Phoenix looks like a great way to do that. I’ve gone through the tutorials provided here, and plan to do so again once I’ve done more of the Exercism exercises.

I’ve also read a few books off and on, and refer to them as needed:

• Programming Elixir: It means a lot to me that Dave Thomas, one of the forward-thinking individuals who helped bring Ruby to the world outside of Japan, has taken such a shine to Elixir.

• Introducing Elixir: Full disclosure, I work for O’Reilly Media, the publisher of this book.

• Programming Phoenix: This is the goal: To develop Elixir-based web applications and proficiently as I can in Ruby on Rails. I bought the beta release of this book in November. I have put it on the back burner while I learn more about the language itself, but will revisit the book soon.

Finally, I’m looking forward to a revitalized Elixir meetup group in Kansas City. Hope to see you there sometime.