Debugging Elixir with Erlang Tools: An In-depth Exploration

The talk, presented by Lorena Mireles at Code BEAM America 2024, explores the importance and utility of debugging tools in Elixir. Mireles shares personal anecdotes about entering the speaking circuit before diving into technical content. She highlights the foundational tracing mechanisms in Erlang, such as `trace` and `trace_pattern`, which aid in debugging complex issues in live systems without requiring recompilation. The session discusses user-friendly tools like `dbg` and `Rexbug`, which provide accessible interfaces for these powerful Erlang functions. Detailed examples showcase how these tools can help identify and resolve bugs in Elixir applications by filtering and tracing function calls and events. Mireles emphasizes the robustness and battle-tested nature of the BEAM ecosystem, encouraging the audience to leverage these tools for effective debugging.