The Leanpub Podcast 🎙️ feat. Isaak Tsalicoglou, Author of Phoenix Product Codex: Develop and deploy a REST API for Product Data Management with Elixir and Phoenix

Episode Details

In this episode of the Leanpub Podcast, Len Epp, co-founder of Leanpub, interviews Isaak Tsalicoglou, author of Phoenix Product Codex: Develop and deploy a REST API for Product Data Management with Elixir and Phoenix. Isaak shares the story behind his book, which grew out of real-world problems faced in his family’s business. He explains how he built a REST API for managing product data using Elixir and the Phoenix web framework, with SQLite and Ecto for database modeling.

The discussion explores Isaak's transition from product management and marketing into full-stack development, the advantages of using Elixir for reliability and performance, and how the Leanpub platform helped him iteratively write and publish his book. Len and Isaak also discuss broader issues like digitization for small businesses, and the role of developer-entrepreneurs building real tools for real problems.

Check out Isaak’s work at via his Leanpub author page: https://leanpub.com/u/isaaktsalicoglou.

This interview was recorded on May 5, 2025.

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About the Book

Dive into the real-world journey of building a production-ready Product Data Management REST API with Phoenix Product Codex. This isn't just another Elixir or Phoenix tutorial, but a practical, hands-on tale of solving a critical business problem, straight from the trenches of a family-run industrial-equipment trading business. If you’ve ever wondered how to turn the "master data" of an expansive product portfolio into a structured, scalable system, this book is your guide.

In Phoenix Product Codex, you'll follow Isaak's path of implementing a REST API in Elixir and Phoenix on the basis of a pragmatically-implemented scrappy prototype that began years ago with government-mandated electronic invoicing, to a properly implemented self-hosted solution that has been serving as the Single Source of Truth of product data of two companies for five years.

Learn how to develop and deploy a robust and production-ready REST API using Elixir, Phoenix, Ecto, and SQLite, all while tackling real-world business conundrums, such as thinking about the database schema, organizing tables and modules in domains, considering how to codify a product catalog from scratch, issuing unique item codes with tricks that reduce the probability of typos wreaking havoc, using external APIs to validate data, keeping external data up-to-date with a GenServer, and ensuring data integrity even as the product portfolio grows in size and complexity. This book isn’t about a toy project or yet another to-do list, shopping cart, or Pokedex; it’s about shipping functional (in more ways than one) software that has kept a business running, day in and day out.

Much like Northwind Elixir Traders, what sets this book apart from other Phoenix tutorials is its blend of technical depth and business insights. You'll not only master the nuts and bolts of building a REST API, such as domain modeling, database design and migrations, authentication and authorization, rate limiting, third-party API integrations, and GenServers, but you'll also learn about the business-minded thinking behind every decision.

Phoenix Product Codex is a decidedly shorter, yet more real-world focused and business-driven sequel to its technologies-focused and toy-database-based predecessor, Northwind Elixir Traders (which is still a great primer if you're new to Elixir, Ecto or SQLite).

About the Author

Isaak Tsalicoglou writes about all aspects of organizations turning their knowledge about markets, customers, and technology into a competitive advantage through the judicious use of technology, vigorous collaboration across functions and locations, and an entrepreneurial mindset… but also writes about how hype, dogmatism, agency issues, culture clash and misaligned incentives prevent organizations from doing so.

Leanpub book LAUNCH 🚀 Phoenix Product Codex by Isaak Tsalicoglou

Clips From This Episode of the Leanpub Podcast