We will demonstrate how to use a unique feature of the Erlang VM: Tracing Erlang and Elixir programs in a distributed network. The course gives practical advice for tracing on a live system let it be a single node or a distributed cluster. We will discuss how tracing can complement logging and monitoring.
Expertise: Intermediate
Target audience: Software Developers & Support Engineers
Duration: 4 hours
Prerequisites: Practical experience of Erlang or Elixir
Objectives:
- Understanding of the low level mechanism of tracing
- Understanding of where tracing fits into the development flow
- Understanding tracing in a single node
- Understanding tracing in a distributed cluster
Course Outline
The course covers the topics of tracing in the BEAM virtual machine. It is applicable for both Erlang and Elixir as most libraries are the same. The course covers the following tracing libraries:
- Built-in tracer
- dbg
- redbug/rexbug