A Guide to Inspecting Elixir Bytecode Generation

The article explains a technique for inspecting the compiled bytecode of Elixir code by adding the annotation @compile :S to a module. This method allows developers to analyze the generated bytecode, which can be helpful for understanding how code modifications influence the final output. By compiling the module with the annotation, an accompanying .S file is produced, containing the bytecode representation. The article provides examples showing how different compile annotations, such as inlining a private function, affect the generated code, making it easier for developers to optimize and understand their code’s performance.