Nicolas Dular
@nicolasdular.com
Staff @gitlab.com
Fullstack, but mostly into #Rails #ElixirLang
Fullstack, but mostly into #Rails #ElixirLang
I am bullish on Elixir elixir-lang.org/blog/2026/01...
Type inference of all constructs and the next 15 months
Today we celebrate 15 years since Elixir’s first commit! To mark the occasion, we are glad to announce the first release candidate for Elixir v1.20, which performs type inference of all language const...
elixir-lang.org
January 10, 2026 at 9:24 AM
I am bullish on Elixir elixir-lang.org/blog/2026/01...
While we like to complain about the Frontend ecosystem constantly changing. At least they have one language.
Backend has the problem of language diversity.
Backend has the problem of language diversity.
January 8, 2026 at 11:44 AM
While we like to complain about the Frontend ecosystem constantly changing. At least they have one language.
Backend has the problem of language diversity.
Backend has the problem of language diversity.
December 25, 2025 at 9:41 PM
The product of my dreams: lutefish.com
But even under best conditions, the physical latency barrier is just too high :(
I guess I'll wait for quantum entanglement.
But even under best conditions, the physical latency barrier is just too high :(
I guess I'll wait for quantum entanglement.
Play Music Together, Miles Apart
Lutefish makes it dead simple to rehearse with real musicians in real time—without leaving your space or lowering your standards. It's super low-latency hardware pairs with an online platform for fast...
lutefish.com
December 11, 2025 at 3:46 PM
The product of my dreams: lutefish.com
But even under best conditions, the physical latency barrier is just too high :(
I guess I'll wait for quantum entanglement.
But even under best conditions, the physical latency barrier is just too high :(
I guess I'll wait for quantum entanglement.
I spent a good chunk of 2025 building side projects no one asked for. And I loved it! 🦥
nicolasdular.com/blog/2025/11...
nicolasdular.com/blog/2025/11...
Side Projects in 2025
Side Projects in 2025 - Blog post by Nicolas Dular
nicolasdular.com
December 1, 2025 at 2:10 PM
I spent a good chunk of 2025 building side projects no one asked for. And I loved it! 🦥
nicolasdular.com/blog/2025/11...
nicolasdular.com/blog/2025/11...
Reposted by Nicolas Dular
The job of a programmer is to manage exactly two things: uncertainty and complexity.
Code is sometimes an asset and sometimes a liability, but itself has no meaning outside the context of those two factors.
Code is sometimes an asset and sometimes a liability, but itself has no meaning outside the context of those two factors.
November 24, 2025 at 9:05 PM
The job of a programmer is to manage exactly two things: uncertainty and complexity.
Code is sometimes an asset and sometimes a liability, but itself has no meaning outside the context of those two factors.
Code is sometimes an asset and sometimes a liability, but itself has no meaning outside the context of those two factors.
So far I ignored all these clickbait "prompt engineering" guides.
Works grat.
Telling the LLM what to do is all you need.
Works grat.
Telling the LLM what to do is all you need.
November 23, 2025 at 9:17 PM
So far I ignored all these clickbait "prompt engineering" guides.
Works grat.
Telling the LLM what to do is all you need.
Works grat.
Telling the LLM what to do is all you need.
Months of work went into this and I finally saw it live in production.
From queries that used to take 15+ seconds (and timed out) to just ~10-30ms 🚀
More details in the design doc:
handbook.gitlab.com/handbook/eng...
From queries that used to take 15+ seconds (and timed out) to just ~10-30ms 🚀
More details in the design doc:
handbook.gitlab.com/handbook/eng...
Traversal IDs on issues
Business Objectives To further roll out work items, we need to tackle the scaling problems that are inherent to our hierarchy-based approach to querying data. Without addressing these performance prob...
handbook.gitlab.com
October 21, 2025 at 12:44 PM
Months of work went into this and I finally saw it live in production.
From queries that used to take 15+ seconds (and timed out) to just ~10-30ms 🚀
More details in the design doc:
handbook.gitlab.com/handbook/eng...
From queries that used to take 15+ seconds (and timed out) to just ~10-30ms 🚀
More details in the design doc:
handbook.gitlab.com/handbook/eng...
Reposted by Nicolas Dular
Now that Strava has launched a similar feature, I'm ready to show you the project I've been working on this year:
easyhard.carbonative.com
It will help you to obey the 80/20 rule in running: 80% of your runs should be easy, 20% hard.
easyhard.carbonative.com
It will help you to obey the 80/20 rule in running: 80% of your runs should be easy, 20% hard.
Easy Hard | Login
Track your running intensity and master the 80/20 rule. Train smarter with data-driven insights into your easy vs. hard efforts.
easyhard.carbonative.com
October 10, 2025 at 6:36 AM
Now that Strava has launched a similar feature, I'm ready to show you the project I've been working on this year:
easyhard.carbonative.com
It will help you to obey the 80/20 rule in running: 80% of your runs should be easy, 20% hard.
easyhard.carbonative.com
It will help you to obey the 80/20 rule in running: 80% of your runs should be easy, 20% hard.
I am building a small application with #ElixirLang and Codex.
Process is pretty much:
- Let Codex run with my prompt
- Look at generated code
- Delete 50% of the code
It's okay-ish at writing tests, which is nice. Especially since IMO Elixir tests are too verbose compared to RSpec.
Process is pretty much:
- Let Codex run with my prompt
- Look at generated code
- Delete 50% of the code
It's okay-ish at writing tests, which is nice. Especially since IMO Elixir tests are too verbose compared to RSpec.
October 10, 2025 at 10:08 AM
I am building a small application with #ElixirLang and Codex.
Process is pretty much:
- Let Codex run with my prompt
- Look at generated code
- Delete 50% of the code
It's okay-ish at writing tests, which is nice. Especially since IMO Elixir tests are too verbose compared to RSpec.
Process is pretty much:
- Let Codex run with my prompt
- Look at generated code
- Delete 50% of the code
It's okay-ish at writing tests, which is nice. Especially since IMO Elixir tests are too verbose compared to RSpec.
Looked more into @ash-hq.org now. A few thoughts
- Not completely sold on the declarative style.
- It's fast to prototype stuff.
- LLMs are doing surprisingly ok.
- Having types end to end is a game changer.
- Not completely sold on the declarative style.
- It's fast to prototype stuff.
- LLMs are doing surprisingly ok.
- Having types end to end is a game changer.
September 29, 2025 at 6:24 PM
Looked more into @ash-hq.org now. A few thoughts
- Not completely sold on the declarative style.
- It's fast to prototype stuff.
- LLMs are doing surprisingly ok.
- Having types end to end is a game changer.
- Not completely sold on the declarative style.
- It's fast to prototype stuff.
- LLMs are doing surprisingly ok.
- Having types end to end is a game changer.
Ruby community reaches JavaScript community drama level.
September 20, 2025 at 11:13 AM
Ruby community reaches JavaScript community drama level.
I looked into Node/Typescript ecosystem for a Fullstack framework last week.
Quality on the backend is just too far off from what I see in Rails/Phoenix.
My biggest requirement is: full typing between backend to frontend. Now looking into @ash-hq.org 👀
Quality on the backend is just too far off from what I see in Rails/Phoenix.
My biggest requirement is: full typing between backend to frontend. Now looking into @ash-hq.org 👀
September 17, 2025 at 3:25 PM
I looked into Node/Typescript ecosystem for a Fullstack framework last week.
Quality on the backend is just too far off from what I see in Rails/Phoenix.
My biggest requirement is: full typing between backend to frontend. Now looking into @ash-hq.org 👀
Quality on the backend is just too far off from what I see in Rails/Phoenix.
My biggest requirement is: full typing between backend to frontend. Now looking into @ash-hq.org 👀
I am looking into the NodeJS ecosystem. A bit shocked about the state of ORMs.
Maybe it's what I needed to appreciate ActiveRecord 😂
Maybe it's what I needed to appreciate ActiveRecord 😂
September 15, 2025 at 9:13 PM
I am looking into the NodeJS ecosystem. A bit shocked about the state of ORMs.
Maybe it's what I needed to appreciate ActiveRecord 😂
Maybe it's what I needed to appreciate ActiveRecord 😂
After being a drummer all my life, it still blows my mind that I can take my Trombone WITH ME.
Disassemble. Put it in the case. Go
Just like that 🤯
Disassemble. Put it in the case. Go
Just like that 🤯
September 15, 2025 at 1:39 PM
After being a drummer all my life, it still blows my mind that I can take my Trombone WITH ME.
Disassemble. Put it in the case. Go
Just like that 🤯
Disassemble. Put it in the case. Go
Just like that 🤯
What are good open source Elixir/Phoenix codebases to look into?
I already looked into @changelog.com and like that they're cutting out context completely.
I already looked into @changelog.com and like that they're cutting out context completely.
September 2, 2025 at 11:35 AM
What are good open source Elixir/Phoenix codebases to look into?
I already looked into @changelog.com and like that they're cutting out context completely.
I already looked into @changelog.com and like that they're cutting out context completely.
Reposted by Nicolas Dular
"What do you hate about ActiveRecord?"
That interview would definitely go over time.
That interview would definitely go over time.
With LLMs making leetcode and other whiteboard problems trivial, software hiring IMO should shift towards establishing taste, which LLMs absolutely do not have.
"What do you hate about ActiveRecord? What would you change about Rails if you could?" Review this PR, etc.
"What do you hate about ActiveRecord? What would you change about Rails if you could?" Review this PR, etc.
July 24, 2025 at 8:52 PM
"What do you hate about ActiveRecord?"
That interview would definitely go over time.
That interview would definitely go over time.
So far I've not seen any good fullstack framework.
JS does well on client/server communication, but is years behind backend frameworks.
Backend languages try to abstract all client-side communication and end up with weird patterns.
JS does well on client/server communication, but is years behind backend frameworks.
Backend languages try to abstract all client-side communication and end up with weird patterns.
June 24, 2025 at 9:37 PM
So far I've not seen any good fullstack framework.
JS does well on client/server communication, but is years behind backend frameworks.
Backend languages try to abstract all client-side communication and end up with weird patterns.
JS does well on client/server communication, but is years behind backend frameworks.
Backend languages try to abstract all client-side communication and end up with weird patterns.
Experience means: you hate all your solutions equally.
June 23, 2025 at 1:03 PM
Experience means: you hate all your solutions equally.
Reposted by Nicolas Dular
I am getting SO tired of these posts from influencers:
“We literally cloned an N billion-dollar company in 20 minutes with {vibe coding tool}. This changes the game forever.”
No, you didn’t “clone” a billion-dollar business. You created a landing page similar to it. That’s all.
“We literally cloned an N billion-dollar company in 20 minutes with {vibe coding tool}. This changes the game forever.”
No, you didn’t “clone” a billion-dollar business. You created a landing page similar to it. That’s all.
June 6, 2025 at 8:10 AM
I am getting SO tired of these posts from influencers:
“We literally cloned an N billion-dollar company in 20 minutes with {vibe coding tool}. This changes the game forever.”
No, you didn’t “clone” a billion-dollar business. You created a landing page similar to it. That’s all.
“We literally cloned an N billion-dollar company in 20 minutes with {vibe coding tool}. This changes the game forever.”
No, you didn’t “clone” a billion-dollar business. You created a landing page similar to it. That’s all.
Rise of the Product-Focused Engineer
spiess.dev
June 3, 2025 at 5:50 PM
Most SaaS products are just fancier Excel sheets.
Dedicated software is still nicer to use though.
But with AI, I expect more companies starting to build tailored tools themselves.
Dedicated software is still nicer to use though.
But with AI, I expect more companies starting to build tailored tools themselves.
June 1, 2025 at 6:35 PM
Most SaaS products are just fancier Excel sheets.
Dedicated software is still nicer to use though.
But with AI, I expect more companies starting to build tailored tools themselves.
Dedicated software is still nicer to use though.
But with AI, I expect more companies starting to build tailored tools themselves.
I love that they work on type inference.
Interops from BE to FE is the missing piece. Looking forward to when this is solved!
Interops from BE to FE is the missing piece. Looking forward to when this is solved!
Keynoyte: Type System and Elixir Updates + Extended Q&A - José Valim | ElixirConf EU 2025
YouTube video by Code Sync
www.youtube.com
May 29, 2025 at 8:57 AM
I love that they work on type inference.
Interops from BE to FE is the missing piece. Looking forward to when this is solved!
Interops from BE to FE is the missing piece. Looking forward to when this is solved!