# Learn Erlang Step-By-Step **URL:** \ **Category:** Courses\ **Tags:** learning\ **Created:** [November 6, 2026, 11:28am UTC](https://erlangforums.com/t/learn-erlang-step-by-step/6112 "2026-11-06T11:28:57Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 4\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![keyhan](https://erlangforums.com/user_avatar/erlangforums.com/keyhan/32/3238_2.png) [@keyhan](https://erlangforums.com/u/keyhan)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2026, 11:28am UTC](https://erlangforums.com/t/learn-erlang-step-by-step/6112/1 "2026-11-06T11:28:57Z")
![Screenshot 2026-11-06 at 18.29.32](https://erlangforums.com/uploads/default/original/2X/2/292ed8cdd2010f897485307fad0ca7aadbab28c1.jpeg) East Branch Software built this tutorial to teach Erlang > TUTORIAL LESSONS > > 0 - System Setup and Your First Project > 1 - Your First Erlang Module > 2 - Pattern Matching - Erlang’s Superpower > 3 - Recursion > 4 - Higher-Order Functions > 5 - List Comprehensions and Data Manipulation > 6 - Records and Complex Data Structures > 7 - Error Handling and Exceptions > 8 - Introduction to Processes > 9 - Basic Process Communication > 10 - Links and Monitors > 11 - Understanding OTP Principles > 12 - GenServer Basics > 13 - Building Your First GenServer > 14 - Supervisor Patterns > 15 - TCP Socket Programming > 16 - HTTP Request Handling > 17 - The WebSocket Handshake > 18 - WebSocket Frames > 19 - Building the Chat Server Core > 20 - Real-Time Message Broadcasting > 21 - User Authentication and Sessions > 22 - Chat Rooms and Channels > 23 - Unit Testing with EUnit > 24 - Integration Testing with Common Test > 25 - Production Deployment > 26 - Monitoring and Logging > 27 - Performance Optimization > 28 - Database Integration > 29 - Distributed Systems Basics > 30 - Node Discovery and Clustering > 31 - Distributed Chat Architecture > 32 - Fault Tolerance in Distributed Systems > 33 - Hot Code Reloading > 34 - Advanced Security > 35 - Scaling Strategies > 36 - Operations and DevOps > 37 - State Machines with gen\_statem > 38 - Event Handling with gen\_event > 39 - Integration and APIs > 40 - The Final Project and Where to Go Next > **[Learn Erlang | Build Fault-Tolerant Systems](https://learnerlang.com/)** > > Learn Erlang Step-By-Step - Build a WebSocket chat server from scratch ---
**Author:** ![schnef](https://erlangforums.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/s/ad7895/32.png) [@schnef](https://erlangforums.com/u/schnef)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2026, 6:14pm UTC](https://erlangforums.com/t/learn-erlang-step-by-step/6112/2 "2026-11-06T18:14:52Z")
Sorry, I don’t want to come across as a grumpy old man, but the description of “…learn Erlang before learning its Ruby-inspired modern incarnation…” is, in my view, not entirely accurate. Elixir is certainly not a replacement for Erlang or an upgrade of it. It’s simply a different programming language with a very different approach and set of applications. Here and there I keep running into some inaccuracies, such as in chapter 3, Recursion, under the heading “Important Note: Anonymous Functions and Self-Reference”, where you state that an anonymous function cannot call itself — but that hasn’t been true since Erlang 17. As you can read in LYSE **[Anonymous functions](https://learnyousomeerlang.com/higher-order-functions#anonymous-functions)** with internal names: ```erlang PrepareAlarm = fun(Room) -> io\:format("Alarm set in ~s.~n",[Room]), fun Loop() -> io\:format("Alarm tripped in ~s! Call Batman!~n",[Room]), timer\:sleep(500), Loop() end end. ``` I think some exceptionally good books have been written in the past for learning Erlang. Even though they are somewhat older now, they are still relevant, especially when it comes to the basic principles. Rather than yet another introduction to the language, I personally would have written something about the tooling around Erlang (rebar, ELP, ct, etc.) and referred to existing [material](https://www.erlang.org/docs.html) for Erlang itself. The books mentioned there are all of top quality. ---
**Author:** ![gene](https://erlangforums.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@gene](https://erlangforums.com/u/gene)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2026, 6:16pm UTC](https://erlangforums.com/t/learn-erlang-step-by-step/6112/3 "2026-11-06T18:16:35Z")
Yeah, I guess it’s heavily AI-assisted, why not. In the “Installing Erlang” section, for macos they list only Homebrew as the recommended method. Call me old-fashioned, but I prefer MacPorts. I’d list both. The editor/IDE, LSPs, and code formatters are not even mentioned. Okay, that’s arguably out of scope for the tutorial, but a proper setup for working with Erlang code is something many beginners would be grateful for. In the list comprehensions section, strict generators aren’t used, and they align better with the “Let it crash” philosophy. But maybe that’s because the chapter was created or updated only two months after Erlang/OTP 28, where they were introduced. OTP is explained as: > A counter or a key-value store would look the same, with different messages and state. OTP is the set of libraries and conventions that ships with Erlang, and its central idea is to write that shared shape once and reuse it. Hmm… maybe that’s correct, but it misses the very fundamental point of OTP. Or this one: > Understanding Recursion > > In programming, recursion breaks big problems into smaller, similar problems until we reach a simple case we can solve directly. I’m afraid that’s not quite what recursion is about. Overall there’s a lot covered, and maybe it’s fine for a tutorial of this kind. ---
**Author:** ![gene](https://erlangforums.com/letter_avatar_proxy/v4/letter/g/43a26b/32.png) [@gene](https://erlangforums.com/u/gene)\ **Post date:** [November 6, 2026, 6:17pm UTC](https://erlangforums.com/t/learn-erlang-step-by-step/6112/4 "2026-11-06T18:17:54Z")
> [@schnef](#): > > I personally would have written something about the tooling around Erlang (rebar, ELP, ct, etc.) My thoughts, too.