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Interesting. Thanks. This looks like it's from a very functional (FP) view of the world. I like a lot that's here, but I fear it will make my OOP friends' head

Interesting. Thanks. This looks like it's from a very functional (FP) view of the world. I like a lot that's here, but I fear it will make my OOP friends' heads explode. Also, as a nit, the essay feels a bit on the "thrashing" side. I know when I'm trying to express complex concepts many times I will hit the same topic a few different times from multiple angles until I get something that's tight. This essay feels like on of those attempts -- nothing here to throw rocks at; it just doesn't feel "done" yet.

braythwayt 11y ago
Hopefully, he has--cough--written paragraphs that are easy to delete, not easy to modify. Ha. Ha. Ha. But seriously, this general idea strikes me as being applicable to writing words as well. Write in such a decoupled way that it is relatively easy to excise paragraphs and sections without destroying the rest of the piece. That may introduce a small amount of redundancy, but it also makes it easy to read in smaller chunks, reorder, or remove outright rather than edit portions that no longer fit.
- tariqali34 11y ago
  Do remember to actually delete paragraphs though. I've seen long-form articles that were really just several short-form articles that are linked together by a listicle format. If I'm lucky, there may even be a few transition phrases or a narrative that would justify the listicle format. All these articles may have been good if the writer wasn't so wedded to the long-form format and started deleting paragraphs. But since he was wedded to the format, all the reader sees is a rather meandering and dull piece. It's an example of the sum of pieces being greater than the whole.
mabbo 11y ago
I think there's a general tend towards things being more functional these days, where possible, even in OOP languages. Since lambdas were added to Java, I know my code style has dramatically changed.
pmarreck 11y ago
If you're not doing even OO in a functional style, wherever possible, you may be doing it wrong... but don't take my word for it http://gamasutra.com/view/news/169296/Indepth_Functional_programming_in_C.php http://gamasutra.com/view/news/169296/Indepth_Functional_pro...
marcosdumay 11y ago
It's not even that OOP developers won't get it. The problem is that this recommendation is harmful on code organized on the Java/.Net/C++ OOP style.
jrochkind1 11y ago
I dunno, with years of experience in OO (ruby for the past 7 or so, Java before that), this still definitely hits home. I don't agree with the commenter that suggests these suggestions are harmful on code written in OO style -- although they specifically say code written in "Java/.Net/C++" style; maybe? But not ruby/smalltalk/ObjC style.

braythwayt 11y ago

Hopefully, he has--cough--written paragraphs that are easy to delete, not easy to modify. Ha. Ha. Ha. But seriously, this general idea strikes me as being applicable to writing words as well. Write in such a decoupled way that it is relatively easy to excise paragraphs and sections without destroying the rest of the piece. That may introduce a small amount of redundancy, but it also makes it easy to read in smaller chunks, reorder, or remove outright rather than edit portions that no longer fit.

tariqali34 11y ago
Do remember to actually delete paragraphs though. I've seen long-form articles that were really just several short-form articles that are linked together by a listicle format. If I'm lucky, there may even be a few transition phrases or a narrative that would justify the listicle format. All these articles may have been good if the writer wasn't so wedded to the long-form format and started deleting paragraphs. But since he was wedded to the format, all the reader sees is a rather meandering and dull piece. It's an example of the sum of pieces being greater than the whole.

mabbo 11y ago

I think there's a general tend towards things being more functional these days, where possible, even in OOP languages. Since lambdas were added to Java, I know my code style has dramatically changed.

pmarreck 11y ago

If you're not doing even OO in a functional style, wherever possible, you may be doing it wrong... but don't take my word for it http://gamasutra.com/view/news/169296/Indepth_Functional_programming_in_C.php http://gamasutra.com/view/news/169296/Indepth_Functional_pro...

marcosdumay 11y ago

It's not even that OOP developers won't get it. The problem is that this recommendation is harmful on code organized on the Java/.Net/C++ OOP style.

jrochkind1 11y ago

I dunno, with years of experience in OO (ruby for the past 7 or so, Java before that), this still definitely hits home. I don't agree with the commenter that suggests these suggestions are harmful on code written in OO style -- although they specifically say code written in "Java/.Net/C++" style; maybe? But not ruby/smalltalk/ObjC style.