The beta version of this book looks excellent, but in late October of 2021 it’s a real challenge for someone new to the ecosystem to use the book because the versions of Phoenix and LiveView used in it are quite dated. I’m sure the authors will be updating it since they label it clearly as a beta.
I spent my Saturday morning figuring out how to get a Phoenix app generated that matches the book’s versions, because the file structure has changed a lot since Phoenix 1.5.x and LiveView 0.15.1 and it makes the book impossible to follow for a newbie otherwise. I initially tried mapping it to Phoenix 1.6.2 but it was just too difficult for me.
Super hot tip: install phx_new version 1.5.9 to generate the site. This should give you the version of LiveView in the book and the folder structure and filenames will match.
Second hot tip: After generating the site, I couldn’t get the node dependencies to install on an M1 mac because the node_sass C++ compilation step failed. I tried various things but my solution was to reach over and grab my Intel Macbook Pro, which won’t be an option for most people.
Aside from my frustrations trying to get my environment to match the book’s, this seems like the best way for a newcomer to learn the foundations of LiveView. The new heex templating system seems fairly straightfoward, but I need to learn the basics and I work better with a book than a zillion separate YouTube videos or API docs.
