Book Image

Mastering Functional Programming

Book Image

Mastering Functional Programming

Overview of this book

Functional programming is a paradigm specifically designed to deal with the complexity of software development in large projects. It helps developers to keep track of the interdependencies in the code base and changes in its state in runtime. Mastering Functional Programming provides detailed coverage of how to apply the right abstractions to reduce code complexity, so that it is easy to read and understand. Complete with explanations of essential concepts, practical examples, and self-assessment questions, the book begins by covering the basics such as what lambdas are and how to write declarative code with the help of functions. It then moves on to concepts such as pure functions and type classes, the problems they aim to solve, and how to use them in real-world scenarios. You’ll also explore some of the more advanced patterns in the world of functional programming such as monad transformers and Tagless Final. In the concluding chapters, you’ll be introduced to the actor model, which you can implement in modern functional languages, and delve into parallel programming. By the end of the book, you will be able to apply the concepts of functional programming and object-oriented programming (OOP)in order to build robust applications.
Table of Contents (17 chapters)

Generally encountered side effects

In this section, we will talk more about the side effects commonly encountered in programs. Some of them we have already introduced, and others you may already know from your everyday programming. However, it is crucial for you to pay particular attention to such side effects, because this way, you learn to distinguish them in an ordinary program.

When writing programs (and when living our lives in general), very often, we get used to things without even paying attention to them. Certain things may be a source of headaches and problems, and the first step to resolving the problems is to name the things that cause them.

As functional programming aims to eliminate side effects, it is reasonable for us to name some of the side effects that cause pain.

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