Learning Erlang

[Michael McDaniel]

I think it is wonderful that lately there has been
more interest in and activity with Erlang; well,
so it seems to me!


There is a lot to learn about Erlang, and much 
information available to read and learn with.


A quick start can be had by pointing your browser
at http://erlang.org/starting.html 


I have locally installed Erlang and the distribution
so have the great documentation available by pointing
my browser at:

file:///usr/local/lib/erlang/doc/index.html


Note that the documentation can be downloaded without
installing the complete package at http://erlang.org/download.html.
It is also available online at http://erlang.org/starting.html 

Follows is the index of all the great information
that the Erlang/OTP team provides with the distribution.
There is much more than this list.  For example, the
"Applications" expand to even more information.

---------------------------------------------------
R10B
Glossary | Modules | Index

Release highlights
Potential incompatibilities

Erlang/OTP
·Installation Guide
·System Principles
·Embedded System

Erlang Programming
·Getting Started
·Erlang Reference Manual
·Programming Examples
·Efficiency Guide
·Interoperability Tutorial

Working with OTP
·Design Principles
·OAM Principles

Applications

Basic Applications
   compiler
   erts
   sasl
   stdlib
   kernel

Database Applications

Operation & Maintenance Applications

Object Request Broker & IDL Applications

Interface and Communication Applications

Tool Applications

http://www.erlang.se 
---------------------------------------------------


Sometimes I have a difficult time finding just what I
need because I do not know what module to use.  In those
cases I may click on the 'index' and do a search for
a function name.  Often I find what I need that way, and
the module to use.  Sometimes I look through the installation
directories and code to help learn more about programming in
Erlang, or to find neat things I might not have discovered
otherwise.

The "Erlang Programming" section is excellent, as is 
all of the documentation.  There are books available
for Erlang also.  Enter "erlang books" into google
and you will find references to paper books and online
books.

All of the above information can help learn Erlang and
Functional Programming.  A more in-depth study of 
Functional Programming is available by entering
"functional programming books" into google.  An
excellent classic is "Structure and Interpretation
of Computer Programs" by Harold Abelson and 
Gerald Jay Sussman.  Though it uses Lisp (Scheme dialect)
for the language, it is a valid tool for the budding
Erlang (or other Functional Language) programmer.
ISBN 0-262-01153-0
http://mitpress.mit.edu/catalog/item/default.asp?ttype=2&tid=3305

After having read and searched through the documentation
there are still occasionally unanswered questions about how
to use certain aspects of Erlang.  This mailing list is a
wonderful resource to help out in those cases (If you're
reading this then you already know that part!).


  Happy Learning!


~Michael

-- 
Michael McDaniel
Portland, Oregon, USA
http://autosys.us
+1 503 283 5284