Erlang explained

Erlang: A Robust Language for Secure and Scalable Systems

5 min read · Dec. 6, 2023

Glossary

Introduction
Origins and History
Key Features and Design Principles
Use Cases and Examples
Relevance in the Industry and Best Practices
Career Aspects and Future Outlook
Conclusion

Introduction

Erlang, known for its reliability, fault-tolerance, and scalability, is a programming language that has gained significant popularity in the world of InfoSec and Cybersecurity. Originally developed by Ericsson for telecommunication systems, Erlang has proven to be a powerful tool for building secure and highly available distributed systems. In this article, we will dive deep into Erlang, exploring its origins, features, use cases, and its relevance in the industry.

Origins and History

Erlang was first created by Joe Armstrong, Robert Virding, and Mike Williams at Ericsson in the 1980s. It was initially developed to address the challenges of building fault-tolerant and scalable telecommunication systems. Named after the Danish mathematician Agner Krarup Erlang, the language was designed to handle the complex and demanding requirements of the telecommunications industry.

Erlang gained recognition for its ability to handle massive concurrency, fault tolerance, and hot code swapping. These features were crucial in ensuring uninterrupted service in telecommunications, where downtime could have severe consequences. As Erlang evolved, it became clear that its unique features made it suitable for a wide range of applications beyond telecommunications.

Key Features and Design Principles

Concurrency and Lightweight Processes

One of the standout features of Erlang is its lightweight concurrency model. Erlang processes are extremely lightweight, allowing for the creation of hundreds of thousands of concurrent processes on a single machine without significant overhead. These processes are isolated from each other and communicate through message passing, providing a robust and scalable foundation for building distributed systems.

Fault Tolerance and Error Recovery

Erlang's design places a strong emphasis on fault tolerance. It provides mechanisms to isolate errors within individual processes, allowing the system to recover from failures without affecting the overall system stability. Supervision trees, known as OTP (Open Telecom Platform) supervisors, enable the automatic restart of failed processes, ensuring the system remains resilient even in the face of errors.

Hot Code Swapping

Erlang's ability to perform hot code swapping, or updating the code of a running system without stopping it, is a critical feature for maintaining uninterrupted service. This capability allows developers to deploy bug fixes, performance improvements, and feature enhancements without downtime. Hot code swapping is achieved through Erlang's built-in support for dynamic code loading and module versioning.

Message Passing and Distribution

Erlang's message passing mechanism, built on the Actor model, provides a simple and reliable means of communication between processes. This model facilitates the development of distributed systems, where Erlang nodes can communicate across network boundaries. The built-in distribution capabilities of Erlang enable the creation of fault-tolerant and scalable systems that span multiple machines and locations.

Functional Programming and Pattern Matching

Erlang is a functional programming language, which means it treats computation as the evaluation of mathematical functions. This paradigm promotes immutability and statelessness, making programs easier to reason about and test. Erlang's pattern matching capabilities allow for concise and expressive code, enabling developers to handle complex data structures and messages with ease.

Use Cases and Examples

Telecommunications

Erlang's roots lie in the telecommunications industry, where it has been extensively used for building highly reliable and fault-tolerant systems. Telecom switches, call control servers, and signaling gateways are some examples of Erlang's application in this domain. The ability to handle massive concurrency, fault tolerance, and hot code swapping are crucial for ensuring uninterrupted service in telecommunications.

Messaging and Chat Systems

The inherent support for concurrency and message passing makes Erlang an excellent choice for building messaging and chat systems. Examples include WhatsApp, which initially relied on Erlang for its backend infrastructure to handle millions of concurrent users. The fault-tolerant nature of Erlang ensures that the system remains available even during peak loads or in the event of failures.

Financial Systems

Erlang's fault-tolerant and scalable nature makes it suitable for building financial systems that require high availability and reliability. Erlang's ability to handle concurrent requests and its built-in support for distributed computing are particularly useful in this domain. Companies like Vocalink, a payment systems provider, have adopted Erlang for building real-time, secure, and fault-tolerant payment processing systems.

IoT and Real-Time Systems

The rise of the Internet of Things (IoT) has created a need for systems that can handle massive amounts of data and provide real-time processing capabilities. Erlang's lightweight concurrency model and fault-tolerant design make it well-suited for building IoT systems. Companies like Ericsson and General Electric (GE) have utilized Erlang to develop IoT platforms and solutions that can handle high volumes of data and ensure system reliability.

Relevance in the Industry and Best Practices

Erlang's unique features and design principles have made it a popular choice in industries where reliability, fault tolerance, and scalability are critical. Its adoption in domains such as telecommunications, messaging, Finance, and IoT highlights its relevance in the industry.

To ensure secure and robust Erlang applications, it is essential to follow industry best practices. Some key considerations include:

Secure Code Development: Adhere to secure coding practices to minimize Vulnerabilities and protect against common security threats. Erlang's built-in support for functional programming and immutability aids in writing secure code.
Secure Communication: When building distributed systems, ensure secure communication channels between Erlang nodes. Employ Encryption protocols such as Transport Layer Security (TLS) to protect data in transit.
Access Controls: Implement appropriate access controls to restrict unauthorized access to sensitive resources within Erlang applications. Follow the principle of least privilege and regularly review access permissions.
System Monitoring and Logging: Implement robust monitoring and logging mechanisms to detect and respond to security incidents. Tools like Erlang's built-in tracing capabilities and external monitoring solutions can help in identifying and mitigating potential threats.
Code Review and Testing: Conduct thorough code reviews and rigorous testing to identify and address security Vulnerabilities early in the development process. Utilize frameworks like EUnit and Common Test to automate testing and ensure code correctness.

Career Aspects and Future Outlook

Proficiency in Erlang opens up exciting career opportunities in the field of InfoSec and Cybersecurity. As Erlang continues to gain traction in various industries, the demand for professionals with Erlang expertise is expected to grow.

Roles such as Erlang Developer, Distributed Systems Engineer, and Security Specialist are some of the job titles that align with Erlang skills. These roles involve designing and building secure, scalable, and fault-tolerant systems using Erlang.

To enhance career prospects, individuals can pursue Erlang-specific certifications, such as the Erlang Certified Developer (ECD) offered by the Erlang Solutions Training and Certification Program. Additionally, active participation in the Erlang community, attending conferences, and contributing to open-source Erlang projects can help establish a strong professional network and showcase expertise.