3 ms·

Ocaml is probably the one at the sweet spot since its fairly practical (reasonable number of libraries and a good compiler) and has a simple-but-effective core

by cyrus_ 15y ago

Ocaml is probably the one at the sweet spot since its fairly practical (reasonable number of libraries and a good compiler) and has a simple-but-effective core type system (ADTs + modules). Plus you can transition to F# later if you want more libraries. Haskell wouldn't be a terrible choice either -- just be warned that it is more difficult and idiosyncratic (laziness + type classes + monads + random GHC extensions that do strange things).

big_data 15y ago
What about starting with F#? Because it's M$FT, there might be more appeal for the skill from an employment perspective.
- cyrus_ 15y ago
  Could do that too, but it doesn't have a module system (it just uses the CLI's mechanisms, which aren't that great). A good module system is worth knowing, even if you ultimately aren't able to use it for practical reasons.
  - big_data 15y ago
    I will definitely look into this. Thanks!