I mentioned my Functional Programming Presentation a while back and promised to provide more detail. In response, I’m sharing my slide deck in a quick series of posts. Here’s the last part of the series.
In case you missed them, here are links to the complete series:
- Functional Programming – Part 1
- Functional Programming – Part 2
- Functional Programming – Part 3
- Functional Programming – Part 4
- Functional Programming – Part 5
- Functional Programming – Part 6
- Functional Programming – Part 7
- Functional Programming – Part 8
- Functional Programming – Part 9
- Functional Programming – Part 10
I feel my references they really deserve special attention and a dedicated slide/page (even though my functional programming references all along.)
I hope you enjoyed this series. What’s next?
August 12th, 2009 at 1:44 pm
Thanks for the interesting slideshow on Functional Programming. I do have one question, though: is it better for those who are new to programming to learn about FP before learning other more “regular” languages? The articles and discussions I’ve seen so far seem to focus more on “inviting” more experienced programmers to learn FP.
Thanks again.
August 15th, 2009 at 10:21 am
@Isxek - I love your question. I think experience in another paradigm like OOP can work against even the most experienced developer when trying to learn FP. Basically, all of those object-oriented principles, for example, go out the window and there’s a lot of “unlearning” which an experienced developer needs to overcome before they can grasp FP. So, if one is excited about FP, I think they should focus on it before any other paradigm.
That said, I can’t say there’s a recommended order in which to learn languages or paradigms because I don’t believe one really builds on top of the other. I think it is best to get a general understanding of each paradigm, consider the way your own brain is wired and then choose the best match. Also, there’s always a best tool for every job. If someone new to programming was going to be dealing with algorithms over big data, I would suggest they start with an FP language rather than something procedural. There’s really no correct answer here. It’s all about personal preference and sometimes what problem needs to be solved.
I hope I answered your question — at least a little. Thanks for the comment.