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I think a lot of concepts from category theory can be applied to every day programming in a lot of languages. Understanding how things compose helps you write b
by klysm 4y ago
I think a lot of concepts from category theory can be applied to every day programming in a lot of languages. Understanding how things compose helps you write better APIs.
- orangea 4y agoI don't mean any offense to you personally, but this kind of comment is why I hate internet discussions. You just said the opposite of what I said without adding anything new.
- Koshkin 4y agoBut it’s indeed true that > Understanding how things compose helps you write better APIs.
- orangea 4y agoWhich has nothing substantial to do with category theory.
- macrolocal 4y agoNah, here's a recentish overview: https://golem.ph.utexas.edu/category/2020/01/profunctor_optics_the_categori.html https://golem.ph.utexas.edu/category/2020/01/profunctor_opti...
- jnash 4y agoComposition is an old idea that predates Category Theory by a long shot.
- Koshkin 4y agoBut the real understanding of composability in all its complexity and generality has only come with (the more recent developments in) category theory.
- jnash 4y agoNope. It is just a different model for the same thing. You might find it enlightens your understanding of composition but it doesn't make it more "real" than any other model.
- klysm 4y agoWhat other model shares the same expressiveness and universality of category theory?
- macrolocal 4y agoHistorically, this mindset hasn't been productive, eg. complex analysts skeptical of GAGA faltered in the 90's and 00's. HoTT is still in its infancy.
- macrolocal 4y agoCorrect.
- jnash 4y agoI can explain the ideas behind composition in 5 minutes using good old (Haskell) types. No Category Theory needed or wanted.
- klysm 4y agoAren’t a lot of Haskell types identical to category theory concepts? Monad? The awesome thing about category theory is that so many things are _examples of_ category theoretic concepts. I’m sure the types you would use would be too. Then you can jump over to a different language and see the same structure. It gives you a universal vocabulary for how things compose and interact. That’s the powerful part.