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This book has a section on "Why Scala" but not on "Why Functional Programming". What is interesting about Scala, if you already know Java (and most CS grads alr

This book has a section on "Why Scala" but not on "Why Functional Programming". What is interesting about Scala, if you already know Java (and most CS grads already do), is that Scala is a functional language. Anyone know of a good book or article that gives an overview of functional programming and answers the question of "Why Functional Programming", without going into details any one functional language?

noelwelsh 7y ago
As someone who has been in the functional programming world for a long time I don't think you can really understand it without some time using it. Beginners tend to focus on language features (immutability, first class functions, map instead of loop, etc.) but it's really a completely different approach to programming than imperative programming. A paradigm shift, in the original sense of the word. It is also difficult to talk about concepts without some notation, and a notation is exactly what a programming provides (as well as other things)! That said, several people have attempted to write about it. John Hughes' "Why Functional Programming Matters" is one that often comes up. There are a million versions of this floating around the web. Here is one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bL-CcjKW1lw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bL-CcjKW1lw I gave a talk on this topic, with examples in Scala: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bL-CcjKW1lw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bL-CcjKW1lw This paper is about the idea of paradigm shifts in programming, and is beautiful and profound, though not about functional programming: https://www.dreamsongs.com/Files/Incommensurability.pdf https://www.dreamsongs.com/Files/Incommensurability.pdf
spir 7y ago
Btw, I find a lot about Scala to be interesting besides that it supports pure functional programming. For me, Scala is much nicer for imperative/OOP than Java, in ways that aren't just skin deep. https://medium.com/@ryanberckmans/why-i-like-scala-45e65cde3365 https://medium.com/@ryanberckmans/why-i-like-scala-45e65cde3...
sideeffffect 7y ago
I suggest you read a blog post What's Functional Programming All About?, written by the author of the book himself. https://www.lihaoyi.com/post/WhatsFunctionalProgrammingAllAbout.html https://www.lihaoyi.com/post/WhatsFunctionalProgrammingAllAb...

noelwelsh 7y ago

As someone who has been in the functional programming world for a long time I don't think you can really understand it without some time using it. Beginners tend to focus on language features (immutability, first class functions, map instead of loop, etc.) but it's really a completely different approach to programming than imperative programming. A paradigm shift, in the original sense of the word. It is also difficult to talk about concepts without some notation, and a notation is exactly what a programming provides (as well as other things)! That said, several people have attempted to write about it. John Hughes' "Why Functional Programming Matters" is one that often comes up. There are a million versions of this floating around the web. Here is one: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bL-CcjKW1lw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bL-CcjKW1lw I gave a talk on this topic, with examples in Scala: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bL-CcjKW1lw https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=bL-CcjKW1lw This paper is about the idea of paradigm shifts in programming, and is beautiful and profound, though not about functional programming: https://www.dreamsongs.com/Files/Incommensurability.pdf https://www.dreamsongs.com/Files/Incommensurability.pdf

spir 7y ago

Btw, I find a lot about Scala to be interesting besides that it supports pure functional programming. For me, Scala is much nicer for imperative/OOP than Java, in ways that aren't just skin deep. https://medium.com/@ryanberckmans/why-i-like-scala-45e65cde3365 https://medium.com/@ryanberckmans/why-i-like-scala-45e65cde3...

sideeffffect 7y ago

I suggest you read a blog post What's Functional Programming All About?, written by the author of the book himself. https://www.lihaoyi.com/post/WhatsFunctionalProgrammingAllAbout.html https://www.lihaoyi.com/post/WhatsFunctionalProgrammingAllAb...