Expanding Phoenix to Support Multiple Web Servers

In his talk, Trudel delves into the Phoenix 1.7 release, highlighting its major improvement of decoupling from the Cowboy web server, which was previously a core dependency. Phoenix is now a fully standalone framework, operating entirely on the Plug ecosystem. This shift required a deep refactoring but also opened Phoenix up to new features and web servers, such as Bandit. The refactoring led to the creation of WebSock, a Plug-like API for WebSockets, ensuring a server-agnostic way to handle WebSocket connections within Phoenix. The changes have practical implications for developers, allowing WebSocket handlers to be integrated anywhere within Phoenix's router, and making a third-party integration, like Bandit, a viable alternative to Cowboy. Trudel also discusses the future of Bandit, including his aim to launch version 1.0 pre, with performance improvements and feature updates. Overall, these advancements reflect a maturation in the ecosystem, improving its flexibility and robustness.