4 ms·

Believe it or not, but java can be written functionally: you have to use an interface (and a few classes) to implement a list and you can use objects as functio

• eru 18y ago
  It can be done. But it's not pretty. Cumbersome and verbose.
  • gaius 18y ago
    And the libraries are full of side effects.
    • speek 18y ago
      Who needs libraries for non-destructive programming in java? You can just use an interface for a list of T (ILoT), a representation of an empty list (MtLoT), and a ConsLoT which has a first (which is of the type T) and a rest (which is of the type ILoT). Bam, you've got a list implementation ( new ConsLoT(new T(arg1, arg2, argN), new ConsLoT(new T(argA, argB, argN), new MtLoT)); ). Function objects are a little different though (http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Function_object#Functors_in_Java http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Function_object#Functors_in_Jav...).
      • eru 18y ago
        Why are you so fixated on lists? There is more to functional programming than that.
        • speek 18y ago
          Lists are a major part of functional programming, you could use arraylists and just make a new one every time you need to "change" data, but they're essentially lists (just not as clear).
          • eru 18y ago
            Breathing is a major part of living, too. Java can do linked lists, yes.
• jrockway 18y ago
  Why bother? Round hole, square peg. You will spend 99% of your time fighting against the language, instead of writing code.
  • brl 18y ago
    Not only will you fight against the language, but the functional style code you produce will be awkward and unreadable by other Java programmers. If this doesn't matter because you are working alone, then why would you choose Java in the first place?