2007/06/06 by Joe Armstrong · 4 citations
Computer Science · #Logic, programming, and type systems #Parallel Computing and Optimization Techniques #Distributed systems and fault tolerance
paper · doi:10.1145/1238844.1238850
openalex publication_date 2007/06/06 · openalex created_date 2025/10/10 · openalex updated_date 2026/07/29
Erlang was designed for writing concurrent programs that "run forever." Erlang uses concurrent processes to structure the program. These processes have no shared memory and communicate by asynchronous message passing. Erlang processes are lightweight and belong to the language, not the operating system. Erlang has mechanisms to allow programs to change code "on the fly" so that programs can evolve and change as they run. These mechanisms simplify the construction of software for implementing non-stop systems.