Overview of the Elixir HTTP client Mint

In the talk, Eric Meadows Jönsson introduces Mint, an innovative HTTP client for Elixir that supports HTTP/1 and HTTP/2. One key aspect of Mint is its process-less architecture based on pure data structures, which provides developers with an uncommon level of flexibility but comes with its own set of challenges. He walks through various use cases for Mint and dives into what it involves to implement an HTTP library with such a design. A significant takeaway is that Mint's approach enables customization and efficiency for high-performance use cases that require specific process architectures, as seen with GenStage, or when working with existing systems or libraries. Eric also delves into the aspects of being 'safe by default', focusing on secure HTTPS practices and avoiding common pitfalls related to SSL/TLS in HTTP clients. Mint is designed to ensure secure communication by default, opting in to security risks only if the developer explicitly chooses to do so. The presentation further explores the implications of this architecture for handling HTTP protocols, particularly the issues surrounding HTTP proxy handling in Mint. The talk reveals that the intent behind Mint is not to limit the HTTP protocol but to offer a foundation on which other libraries and tools can be built, embracing the flexibility of Elixir's design. This goal is reflected in the community’s response, with libraries like Muyu and After Eight being developed around Mint. Looking forward, Eric mentions potential work on HTT P3 support and the evolution of SSL and TLS support in OTP to accommodate the new protocol running over UDP.