9 ms·

Y Not – Adventures in Functional Programming (2012)

254 points by fredwu 13y ago

maxiepoo 13y ago
I was very curious to see a post on the Ynot project http://ynot.cs.harvard.edu/ http://ynot.cs.harvard.edu/ on HN but this make more sense.
crashandburn4 13y ago
It's a shame about Jim. I never knew him but he did a lot for the community. RIP, he'll be missed.
Peroni 13y ago
Jeff Casimir summed up the situation well: >If you want to honor @jimweirich, treat everyone like they're your best friend, smart, and fascinating. That's how he lived. https://twitter.com/j3/status/436514758833876992 https://twitter.com/j3/status/436514758833876992
deleted 13y ago
[deleted]
fexl 13y ago
I've taken to defining "@" as the Y combinator, so it looks kind of like a "goto" label for looping, e.g.: (@\fact\n \n==n <= n 0 1 (* n (fact (- n 1)))) (The \n==n forces an eager evaluation, to avoid building a tower of deferred operations with large n.) The symbol "fact" is arbitrary, e.g. you could say this instead: (@\loop\n \n==n <= n 0 1 (* n (loop (- n 1)))) To define a name "fact" for that function, it's: \fact = (@\loop\n \n==n <= n 0 1 (* n (loop (- n 1))))
StefanKarpinski 13y ago
I saw the version of this talk that he gave at Strange Loop in 2012 using Clojure instead of Ruby: https://thestrangeloop.com/sessions/y-not-adventures-in-functional-programming https://thestrangeloop.com/sessions/y-not-adventures-in-func... It was hands down the best talk at the conference that year. RIP. Edit: 2013 => 2012
- statenjason 13y ago
  Was it the one from 2012? The video is available on infoq. http://www.infoq.com/presentations/Y-Combinator http://www.infoq.com/presentations/Y-Combinator
  - StefanKarpinski 13y ago
    Sorry, yes, it was 2012.
- cgag 13y ago
  I was there as well, definitely one the best talks there, which is saying a lot as Strange Loop is amazing. I didn't realize he died until I saw this thread/comment :(. RIP.
LeicaLatte 13y ago
Was introduced only recently to Jim Weirich. Fabulous computer engineer and talker. RIP.
e12e 13y ago
Confreaks.com seems to be having some troubles, I'm guessing this is the same talk: Ruby Conf 12 - Y Not- Adventures in Functional Programming by Jim Weirich (uploaded by Confreaks): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FITJMJjASUs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FITJMJjASUs
wegi 13y ago
I've just learned about the Y-Combinator in a lecture about functional programming a few weeks ago. Very excited for the Video as soon, as the website is up again.
igravious 13y ago
I thought I'd never understand the Y-Combinator and unbelievably after that talk I nearly kind of do. What a great speaker, you can see that the guy had such a warm heart and spirit. My sympathies go out to anyone who knew him personally.
pselbert 13y ago
This is hands down my favorite talk that Jim ever gave. A great example of live coding.
- frou_dh 13y ago
  Very impressive. He seemed to know his numerous-stage demo by heart and made effectively no mistakes.

254 points by fredwu 13y ago

I was very curious to see a post on the Ynot project http://ynot.cs.harvard.edu/ http://ynot.cs.harvard.edu/ on HN but this make more sense.

crashandburn4 13y ago

It's a shame about Jim. I never knew him but he did a lot for the community. RIP, he'll be missed.

Peroni 13y ago

Jeff Casimir summed up the situation well: >If you want to honor @jimweirich, treat everyone like they're your best friend, smart, and fascinating. That's how he lived. https://twitter.com/j3/status/436514758833876992 https://twitter.com/j3/status/436514758833876992

deleted 13y ago

[deleted]

fexl 13y ago

I've taken to defining "@" as the Y combinator, so it looks kind of like a "goto" label for looping, e.g.: (@\fact\n \n==n <= n 0 1 (* n (fact (- n 1)))) (The \n==n forces an eager evaluation, to avoid building a tower of deferred operations with large n.) The symbol "fact" is arbitrary, e.g. you could say this instead: (@\loop\n \n==n <= n 0 1 (* n (loop (- n 1)))) To define a name "fact" for that function, it's: \fact = (@\loop\n \n==n <= n 0 1 (* n (loop (- n 1))))

StefanKarpinski 13y ago

I saw the version of this talk that he gave at Strange Loop in 2012 using Clojure instead of Ruby: https://thestrangeloop.com/sessions/y-not-adventures-in-functional-programming https://thestrangeloop.com/sessions/y-not-adventures-in-func... It was hands down the best talk at the conference that year. RIP. Edit: 2013 => 2012

statenjason 13y ago
Was it the one from 2012? The video is available on infoq. http://www.infoq.com/presentations/Y-Combinator http://www.infoq.com/presentations/Y-Combinator
- StefanKarpinski 13y ago
  Sorry, yes, it was 2012.
cgag 13y ago
I was there as well, definitely one the best talks there, which is saying a lot as Strange Loop is amazing. I didn't realize he died until I saw this thread/comment :(. RIP.

LeicaLatte 13y ago

Was introduced only recently to Jim Weirich. Fabulous computer engineer and talker. RIP.

e12e 13y ago

Confreaks.com seems to be having some troubles, I'm guessing this is the same talk: Ruby Conf 12 - Y Not- Adventures in Functional Programming by Jim Weirich (uploaded by Confreaks): https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FITJMJjASUs https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=FITJMJjASUs

wegi 13y ago

I've just learned about the Y-Combinator in a lecture about functional programming a few weeks ago. Very excited for the Video as soon, as the website is up again.

igravious 13y ago

I thought I'd never understand the Y-Combinator and unbelievably after that talk I nearly kind of do. What a great speaker, you can see that the guy had such a warm heart and spirit. My sympathies go out to anyone who knew him personally.

pselbert 13y ago

This is hands down my favorite talk that Jim ever gave. A great example of live coding.

frou_dh 13y ago
Very impressive. He seemed to know his numerous-stage demo by heart and made effectively no mistakes.