Efficiently Parsing PDFs in Elixir with Rust Integration

The article outlines the complexities of PDF parsing in Elixir and the limitations of existing solutions. It proposes using Rust, a systems programming language, alongside Elixir to create a more efficient and robust PDF parser. By leveraging the Rustler library to create NIFs, developers can integrate fast Rust code into their Elixir applications. The author provides a step-by-step guide on setting up a LiveView application to upload PDFs, implementing the extract_pdf function using the Extractous library, and handling the resulting data effectively. Key advantages include performance improvements and better handling of PDF formats, making it a useful approach for developers needing to parse not just PDFs but a variety of file types.