Functional Programming: A PragPub Anthology: Exploring Clojure, Elixir, Haskell, Scala, and Swift - Softcover

Softcover

ISBN 10: 1680502336 ISBN 13: 9781680502336

Publisher: Pragmatic Bookshelf, 2017

Synopsis

Explore functional programming and discover new ways of thinking about code. You know you need to master functional programming, but learning one functional language is only the start. In this book, through articles drawn from PragPub magazine and articles written specifically for this book, you'll explore functional thinking and functional style and idioms across languages. Led by expert guides, you'll discover the distinct strengths and approaches of Clojure, Elixir, Haskell, Scala, and Swift and learn which best suits your needs.

Contributing authors: Rich Hickey, Stuart Halloway, Aaron Bedra, Michael Bevilacqua-Linn, Venkat Subramaniam, Paul Callaghan, Jose Valim, Dave Thomas, Natasha Murashev, Tony Hillerson, Josh Chisholm, and Bruce Tate.

Functional programming is on the rise because it lets you write simpler, cleaner code, and its emphasis on immutability makes it ideal for maximizing the benefits of multiple cores and distributed solutions. So far nobody's invented the perfect functional language - each has its unique strengths. In Functional Programming: A PragPub Anthology, you'll investigate the philosophies, tools, and idioms of five different functional programming languages.

See how Swift, the development language for iOS, encourages you to build highly scalable apps using functional techniques like map and reduce. Discover how Scala allows you to transition gently but deeply into functional programming without losing the benefits of the JVM, while with Lisp-based Clojure, you can plunge fully into the functional style. Learn about advanced functional concepts in Haskell, a pure functional language making powerful use of the type system with type inference and type classes. And see how functional programming is becoming more elegant and friendly with Elixir, a new functional language built on the powerful Erlang base.The industry has been embracing functional programming more and more, driven by the need for concurrency and parallelism. This collection of articles will lead you to mastering the functional approach to problem solving. So put on your explorer's hat and prepare to be surprised. The goal of exploration is always discovery.

What You Need:

Familiarity with one or more programming languages.

About this title

About the Author

Michael Swaine has been a technology writer and editor since before the birth of the personal computer. He chronicled that birth in Fire in the Valley, the seminal history of the personal computer, which was selected by Business 2.0 magazine as one of the 100 best business books of all time and is the basis for the movie Pirates of Silicon Valley, which was nominated for five Emmys. He lived close to the flame as one of the founding editors of InfoWorld magazine in the early 1980s, where he daily talked with the programmers and engineers who were inventing the world we live in today. 

Many followers of technology know Mike from his long association with the much-loved programmer's magazine Dr. Dobb's Journal, where he served as editor-in-chief, associate publisher, and editor-at-large and authored the decades-spanning columns Programming Paradigms and Swaine's Flames. While serving as editor-at-large he also found time to write for or edit numerous publications in the United States, Germany, and Italy, including the San Francisco Examiner, Upside, Farmer's Almanac, MacUser, UnixReview, Business Software, Southern Exposure (an Oregon lifestyle magazine he co-created), and the Whole Earth Catalog, as well as writing and serving as a model for a comic strip and co-owning a gourmet restaurant, organic farm, and artisan bakery.

Today Mike is the editor of PragPub, a monthly magazine for programmers that he created in 2009, and continues to write and edit books on technology. Also he creates puzzles.

Review

If you've been wondering what all the functional hubbub is about, Functional Programming: A PragPub Anthology will satisfy. You can wet your whistle with several languages, get a feel for how to think functionally, and do so without overcommitting to one language or school of thought. -Ben Vandgrift, Chief architect, Oryx Systems Inc.  

Programming's last sea change was in the 1990s when object orientation went mainstream. It's happening again, but this time it's functional programming that's sweeping through our profession. Read this book to understand why and to learn how to ride the wave. -Paul Butcher, Founder and CTO, writeandimprove.com  

I really enjoyed the structure and flow of the book. The chapters stand on their own as essays but when put together make a strong argument for functional programming, regardless of the language. It's also a treat to see all these different familiar writers write about diverse languages. -Ben Marx, Lead engineer, Bleacher Report  

Functional Programming: A PragPub Anthology is a very enjoyable compendium of information on functional programming. It should be useful as an introduction for someone who wants to get started with functional programming or someone who has been away from the subject for some time and would like to get back into it. Highly recommended! -Ron Jeffries, Just Some Guy, XProgramming, Inc.

This book is an amazing buffet of programming delicacies, all arranged around the vital and compelling theme of functional programming. These authors are great teachers. With so many expert voices presenting different aspects of the topic, this book is like Beautiful Code for the functional-curious. -Ian Dees, Senior Software Engineer, New Relic  

Edition details

• Publisher: Pragmatic Bookshelf
• Publication date: 2017
• ISBN 10: 1680502336
• ISBN 13: 9781680502336
• Binding: Paperback
• Language: English
• Edition number: 1
• Number of pages: 284
• Editor: Swaine Michael