Functional programming languages are all the rage at the moment. They’re well-suited to parallel programming and the multi-core world. On the Microsoft .NET platform we have F#. I’ve made one or two attempts at learning F# before but lost heart once the going got tough. This time around I’ve decided to make more of an effort. I’ve found that it helps to try more than one learning source as they differ in the degree of explanation they give for each concept.
Thus far I am consulting primarily F# Programming, Real World Functional Programming (online partial version of the book) and MSDN’s F# Language Reference.
I’ve been thinking about whether the learning-curve from procedural to object-oriented programming is greater than that from OO (or procedural) to functional.
I think the harder part about going from procedural to OO was not the mechanics but OO design perhaps. Whereas with functional I think even the mechanics are quite difficult.
However, it could be that I’ve just forgotten how difficult the procedural to OO transition was!
One initial difficulty with F#, especially for those coming from a C-syntax background, is F#’s syntax. It does look quite alien. Syntax itself should not be that big a deal but when combined with new concepts it does add to the mental load, especially once examples start to get elaborate.
A similar language on the Java JVM is Scala. Its syntax is a cross between C-syntax and Ruby/Python’s. I looked briefly at Scala some time ago and it does seem more accessible initially. Though once you get beyond the basics it becomes as scary as F#! A colleague of mine who’s been using Scala commercially for many months tells me it’s a matter of practice. Blogger Labels: Functional,.NET,Microsoft,F#,Java,Scala,Ruby,Python