Book Image

Clojure for Java Developers

Book Image

Clojure for Java Developers

Overview of this book

We have reached a point where machines are not getting much faster, software projects need to be delivered quickly, and high quality in software is more demanding as ever. We need to explore new ways of writing software that helps achieve those goals. Clojure offers a new possibility of writing high quality, multi-core software faster than ever, without having to leave your current platform. Clojure for Java developers aims at unleashing the true potential of the Clojure language to use it in your projects. The book begins with the installation and setup of the Clojure environment before moving on to explore the language in-depth. Get acquainted with its various features such as functional programming, concurrency, etc. with the help of example projects. Additionally, you will also, learn how the tooling works, and how it interacts with the Java environment. By the end of this book, you will have a firm grip on Clojure and its features, and use them effectively to write more robust programs.
Table of Contents (14 chapters)
Clojure for Java Developers
Credits
About the Author
About the Reviewer
www.PacktPub.com
Preface
Index

The Clojure model of state and identity


Clojure has very strong opinions about concurrency, in order to take it in a simpler way it redefines what state and identity mean. Let's explore the meaning of this concepts in Clojure.

When talking about state in Java, you probably think about the values of the attributes of your Java classes. The state in Clojure is similar to Java, it refers to the values of objects but there are very important differences that allow simpler concurrency.

In Clojure, identity is an entity that might have different values over time. Consider the following examples:

  • I have an identity; I will be and continue being this particular individual, my opinions, ideas, and appearance might change over time but I am the same individual with the same identity.

  • You have a bank account; it has a particular number and is run by a particular bank. The amount of money you have in it changes over time, but it is the same bank account.

  • Consider a ticker symbol (such as GOOG), it identifies...