Build ‘Availability First’ Systems with Elixir + DataStax Astra

DataStax Astra and Elixir are powerful tools for building fault-tolerant distributed systems that prioritize scale without sacrificing performance or resilience. Elixir, with its functional approach to programming and OTP toolset, allows developers to create a set of fault-tolerant app servers that can share information and events. Astra, built on Apache Cassandra, provides an ideal datastore for this type of system by prioritizing availability over immediate consistency, eliminating deadlocking behavior that makes systems hard to scale. Together, Astra and Elixir create a platform where developers can build scalable and durable applications without the limitations imposed by traditional architectures. This combination enables the creation of highly available systems capable of supporting complex transactions like major global banking transaction hubs. DataStax recently released an Elixir library for Astra's REST, GraphQL, and Document JSON APIs, including a reference chat app that demonstrates the benefits of using both technologies together.