Learning Java Functional Programming

Create robust and maintainable Java applications using the functional style of programming

About This Book

• Explore how you can blend object-oriented and functional programming styles in Java
• Use lambda expressions to write flexible and succinct code
• A tutorial that strengthens your fundamentals in functional programming techniques to enhance your applications

Who This Book Is For

If you are a Java developer with object-oriented experience and want to use a functional programming approach in your applications, then this book is for you. All you need to get started is familiarity with basic Java object-oriented programming concepts.

What You Will Learn

• Use lambda expressions to simplyfy code
• Use function composition to achieve code fluency
• Apply streams to simply implementations and achieve parallelism
• Incorporate recursion to support an application's functionality
• Provide more robust implementations using Optionals
• Implement design patterns with less code
• Refactor object-oriented code to create a functional solution
• Use debugging and testing techniques specific to functional programs

In Detail

Functional programming is an increasingly popular technology that allows you to simplify many tasks that are often cumbersome and awkward using an object-oriented approach. It is important to understand this approach and know how and when to apply it. Functional programming requires a different mindset, but once mastered it can be very rewarding.

This book simplifies the learning process as a problem is described followed by its implementation using an object-oriented approach and then a solution is provided using appropriate functional programming techniques.

Writing succinct and maintainable code is facilitated by many functional programming techniques including lambda expressions and streams. In this book, you will see numerous examples of how these techniques can be applied starting with an introduction to lambda expressions. Next, you will see how they can replace older approaches and be combined to achieve surprisingly elegant solutions to problems.

This is followed by the investigation of related concepts such as the Optional class and monads, which offer an additional approach to handle problems. Design patterns have been instrumental in solving common problems. You will learn how these are enhanced with functional techniques.

To transition from an object-oriented approach to a functional one, it is useful to have IDE support. IDE tools to refactor, debug, and test functional programs are demonstrated through the chapters. The end of the book brings together many of these functional programming techniques to create a more comprehensive application. You will find this book a very useful resource to learn and apply functional programming techniques in Java.

Style and approach

In this tutorial, each chapter starts with an introduction to the terms and concepts covered in that chapter. It quickly progresses to contrast an object-oriented approach with a functional approach using numerous code examples.

Richard M Reese

Richard M Reese has worked in both industry and academics. For 17 years, he worked in the telephone and aerospace industries, serving in several capacities, including research and development, software development, supervision, and training. He currently teaches at Tarleton State University, where he has the opportunity to draw on his years of industry experience to enhance his teaching. Richard has written several Java books and a C pointer book. He uses a concise and easy-to-follow approach to the topics at hand. His Java books have addressed EJB 3.1, updates to Java 7 and 8, certification, jMonkeyEngine, and Natural Language Processing.