6 ms·

New Edition of “Programming in Haskell” Now Available

117 points by javinpaul 10y ago

sridca 10y ago
How does this compare to Haskell Programming[1]? [1] http://haskellbook.com http://haskellbook.com
- tommikaikkonen 10y ago
  I haven't read the book OP linked, but I've been going through Haskell Programming from First Principles for the last 6 weeks or so and it's been fantastic. The price tag is well worth it in terms of frustration and time saved. I'm about two thirds done. I really like that it builds up from the basics, starting from lambda calculus, and is also very complete in explaining every concept. I don't feel like anything is left unexplained. This is important, because coming from dynamically typed imperative languages, a lot of concepts in Haskell are so alien that you feel like you're learning programming all over again. The exercises set it apart from other resources. They're plentiful, start simple, but quickly increase in difficulty. A lot of times I thought I had a concept mastered until the exercises presented gaps in my knowledge -- which made me learn the concept that much better. The completeness means it's a long book (currently 1233 pages). You'll probably need a healthy dose of existing motivation to learn Haskell to get through it.
  - mrslave 10y ago
    +1 for Allen & Moronuki. Long. Well written. Won't repeat what's already been said.
aikah 10y ago
> All concepts are explained from first principles and no programming experience is required Nice, it looks like it is a good book for beginners. I hesitated between Haskell and F# as a first "real" FP language, I might give Haskell a try.
- Mikeb85 10y ago
  Haskell is definitely easier to dive into than OCaml and F#. I haven't made anything big with it, so can't comment on how it is to use in a project or anything, but to learn functional programming it seems like the best choice.
runeks 10y ago
Anyone know some particularly good Haskell books for intermediate Haskellers? Ones that skip over all the syntax and basic grammar, and dive more into whole-program structure, how to connect different parts together, rather than looking at individual parts.
- misja111 10y ago
  I like Real World Haskell. It does have a small intro explaining the basic stuff but it contains a lot of case studies and chapters about data structures, guis, web servers etc. And it's available online for free: http://book.realworldhaskell.org/read/ http://book.realworldhaskell.org/read/
  - fpoling 10y ago
    As a beginner I also strongly recommend Real World Haskell precisely because it gives examples of realistic applications. For me it was quite revealing that once one sees through syntax, the key difference of programming in Haskell from writing code in more mainstream languages is not the functional aspect but rather very explicit state management.
hevelvarik 10y ago
Just got the book and am impressed. But new to Haskell, I'm actually making my way through the much shorter, free and very well written "YetAnotherHaskellTutorial" first, because I wan't to have a general working knowledge of the language before settling down to the 1000+ page hard slog. Lists get discussed about 700 pages in, so while the book is very thorough--I like that it opens with Lambda Calculus--it seems a little wax on wax off if you haven't first gotten your feet wet via other means.
- amock 10y ago
  "Programming in Haskell", which is the book linked to here, is only 320 pages long, so I think you are confusing it with "Haskell Programming from First Principles", which is over 1200 pages long.
  - hevelvarik 10y ago
    Your'e right, nothing good ever comes out of posting late at night...
willtim 10y ago
This is the Haskell tutorial book that I have always recommended. It's a manageable size and is a good blend of theory and practice. There's also none more qualified than Graham Hutton.
- banach 10y ago
  Same here, and I always recommend to go through it together with Erik Meijer in his Functional Programming Fundamentals Chapter lecture series on Channel9 (https://channel9.msdn.com/Series/C9-Lectures-Erik-Meijer-Functional-Programming-Fundamentals https://channel9.msdn.com/Series/C9-Lectures-Erik-Meijer-Fun...). I wish more programming books were written like this, with emphasis on exercises rather than heaps of text.
- spuz 10y ago
  Have you read Haskell Programming From First Principles? (http://haskellbook.com/ http://haskellbook.com/). Do you know how the two compare?
  - willtim 10y ago
    No I haven't read any of it. Is it even finished yet? I would still try Graham's book first and see how you go.
  - kod 10y ago
    Hutton's book is more concise and written better. From first principles covers slightly more material, at the expense of being 4 times longer.
- doozy 10y ago
  I've always recommended this book too. It's one of the few books that tries to teach (functional) programming instead of a particular language, although obviously you learn Haskell along the way.
bogomipz 10y ago
That T.O.C. looks really good. Its still "not yet released" on Amazon it looks like, hopefully soon. There is also this which is upcoming but available now to read: https://www.manning.com/books/learn-haskell https://www.manning.com/books/learn-haskell Manning releases really quality titles in my opinion and this looks to be in keeping with their standard I think.
- davidf18 10y ago
  I agree about Manning quality. They are sometimes late in delivery (eg, iOS books come out later than the competition).
0xmohit 10y ago
Forward written by Erik Meijer -- https://twitter.com/headinthebox/status/737402063106113536 https://twitter.com/headinthebox/status/737402063106113536 Lecture slides for chapters 1 to 10: http://www.cs.nott.ac.uk/~pszgmh/Slides.zip http://www.cs.nott.ac.uk/~pszgmh/Slides.zip Haskell code for all the extended programming examples: http://www.cs.nott.ac.uk/~pszgmh/Code.zip http://www.cs.nott.ac.uk/~pszgmh/Code.zip -- As an aside, https://github.com/0xmohit/talks https://github.com/0xmohit/talks contains pointers to some interesting talks on Haskell.
0xmohit 10y ago
Also interesting is Data Structures and Functional Programming [0] using OCaml. [0] http://www.cs.cornell.edu/Courses/cs3110/2016fa/ http://www.cs.cornell.edu/Courses/cs3110/2016fa/
- farhanhubble 10y ago
  This looks like a great course to take along with the [FUN](https://www.fun-mooc.fr/courses/parisdiderot/56002S02/session02/about https://www.fun-mooc.fr/courses/parisdiderot/56002S02/sessio...) MOOC coming up later this month.
- sndean 10y ago
  There's also this course given by University of Glasgow coming up on September 19th (it's Haskell, though): https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/functional-programming-haskell https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/functional-programming-h...

117 points by javinpaul 10y ago

sridca 10y ago

How does this compare to Haskell Programming[1]? [1] http://haskellbook.com http://haskellbook.com

tommikaikkonen 10y ago
I haven't read the book OP linked, but I've been going through Haskell Programming from First Principles for the last 6 weeks or so and it's been fantastic. The price tag is well worth it in terms of frustration and time saved. I'm about two thirds done. I really like that it builds up from the basics, starting from lambda calculus, and is also very complete in explaining every concept. I don't feel like anything is left unexplained. This is important, because coming from dynamically typed imperative languages, a lot of concepts in Haskell are so alien that you feel like you're learning programming all over again. The exercises set it apart from other resources. They're plentiful, start simple, but quickly increase in difficulty. A lot of times I thought I had a concept mastered until the exercises presented gaps in my knowledge -- which made me learn the concept that much better. The completeness means it's a long book (currently 1233 pages). You'll probably need a healthy dose of existing motivation to learn Haskell to get through it.
- mrslave 10y ago
  +1 for Allen & Moronuki. Long. Well written. Won't repeat what's already been said.

aikah 10y ago

> All concepts are explained from first principles and no programming experience is required Nice, it looks like it is a good book for beginners. I hesitated between Haskell and F# as a first "real" FP language, I might give Haskell a try.

Mikeb85 10y ago
Haskell is definitely easier to dive into than OCaml and F#. I haven't made anything big with it, so can't comment on how it is to use in a project or anything, but to learn functional programming it seems like the best choice.

runeks 10y ago

Anyone know some particularly good Haskell books for intermediate Haskellers? Ones that skip over all the syntax and basic grammar, and dive more into whole-program structure, how to connect different parts together, rather than looking at individual parts.

misja111 10y ago
I like Real World Haskell. It does have a small intro explaining the basic stuff but it contains a lot of case studies and chapters about data structures, guis, web servers etc. And it's available online for free: http://book.realworldhaskell.org/read/ http://book.realworldhaskell.org/read/
- fpoling 10y ago
  As a beginner I also strongly recommend Real World Haskell precisely because it gives examples of realistic applications. For me it was quite revealing that once one sees through syntax, the key difference of programming in Haskell from writing code in more mainstream languages is not the functional aspect but rather very explicit state management.

hevelvarik 10y ago

Just got the book and am impressed. But new to Haskell, I'm actually making my way through the much shorter, free and very well written "YetAnotherHaskellTutorial" first, because I wan't to have a general working knowledge of the language before settling down to the 1000+ page hard slog. Lists get discussed about 700 pages in, so while the book is very thorough--I like that it opens with Lambda Calculus--it seems a little wax on wax off if you haven't first gotten your feet wet via other means.

amock 10y ago
"Programming in Haskell", which is the book linked to here, is only 320 pages long, so I think you are confusing it with "Haskell Programming from First Principles", which is over 1200 pages long.
- hevelvarik 10y ago
  Your'e right, nothing good ever comes out of posting late at night...

willtim 10y ago

This is the Haskell tutorial book that I have always recommended. It's a manageable size and is a good blend of theory and practice. There's also none more qualified than Graham Hutton.

banach 10y ago
Same here, and I always recommend to go through it together with Erik Meijer in his Functional Programming Fundamentals Chapter lecture series on Channel9 (https://channel9.msdn.com/Series/C9-Lectures-Erik-Meijer-Functional-Programming-Fundamentals https://channel9.msdn.com/Series/C9-Lectures-Erik-Meijer-Fun...). I wish more programming books were written like this, with emphasis on exercises rather than heaps of text.
spuz 10y ago
Have you read Haskell Programming From First Principles? (http://haskellbook.com/ http://haskellbook.com/). Do you know how the two compare?
- willtim 10y ago
  No I haven't read any of it. Is it even finished yet? I would still try Graham's book first and see how you go.
- kod 10y ago
  Hutton's book is more concise and written better. From first principles covers slightly more material, at the expense of being 4 times longer.
doozy 10y ago
I've always recommended this book too. It's one of the few books that tries to teach (functional) programming instead of a particular language, although obviously you learn Haskell along the way.

bogomipz 10y ago

That T.O.C. looks really good. Its still "not yet released" on Amazon it looks like, hopefully soon. There is also this which is upcoming but available now to read: https://www.manning.com/books/learn-haskell https://www.manning.com/books/learn-haskell Manning releases really quality titles in my opinion and this looks to be in keeping with their standard I think.

davidf18 10y ago
I agree about Manning quality. They are sometimes late in delivery (eg, iOS books come out later than the competition).

0xmohit 10y ago

Forward written by Erik Meijer -- https://twitter.com/headinthebox/status/737402063106113536 https://twitter.com/headinthebox/status/737402063106113536 Lecture slides for chapters 1 to 10: http://www.cs.nott.ac.uk/~pszgmh/Slides.zip http://www.cs.nott.ac.uk/~pszgmh/Slides.zip Haskell code for all the extended programming examples: http://www.cs.nott.ac.uk/~pszgmh/Code.zip http://www.cs.nott.ac.uk/~pszgmh/Code.zip -- As an aside, https://github.com/0xmohit/talks https://github.com/0xmohit/talks contains pointers to some interesting talks on Haskell.

0xmohit 10y ago

Also interesting is Data Structures and Functional Programming [0] using OCaml. [0] http://www.cs.cornell.edu/Courses/cs3110/2016fa/ http://www.cs.cornell.edu/Courses/cs3110/2016fa/

farhanhubble 10y ago
This looks like a great course to take along with the [FUN](https://www.fun-mooc.fr/courses/parisdiderot/56002S02/session02/about https://www.fun-mooc.fr/courses/parisdiderot/56002S02/sessio...) MOOC coming up later this month.
sndean 10y ago
There's also this course given by University of Glasgow coming up on September 19th (it's Haskell, though): https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/functional-programming-haskell https://www.futurelearn.com/courses/functional-programming-h...