Functional Thinking

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O'Reilly, 2014 - Computers - 164 pages

If you're familiar with functional programming basics and want to gain a much deeper understanding, this in-depth guide takes you beyond syntax and demonstrates how you need to think in a new way. Software architect Neal Ford shows intermediate to advanced developers how functional coding allows you to step back a level of abstraction so you can see your programming problem with greater clarity.

Each chapter shows you various examples of functional thinking, using numerous code examples from Java 8 and other JVM languages that include functional capabilities. This book may bend your mind, but you'll come away with a much better grasp of functional programming concepts.

  • Understand why many imperative languages are adding functional capabilities
  • Compare functional and imperative solutions to common problems
  • Examine ways to cede control of routine chores to the runtime
  • Learn how memoization and laziness eliminate hand-crafted solutions
  • Explore functional approaches to design patterns and code reuse
  • View real-world examples of functional thinking with Java 8, and in functional architectures and web frameworks
  • Learn the pros and cons of living in a paradigmatically richer world

If you're new to functional programming, check out Josh Backfield's book Becoming Functional.

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About the author (2014)

Neal is an Application Architect at ThoughtWorks, a global IT consultancy with an exclusive focus on end-to-end software development and delivery. Before joining ThoughtWorks, Neal was the Chief Technology Officer at The DSW Group, Ltd., a nationally recognized training and development firm. Neal has a degree in Computer Science from Georgia State University specializing in languages and compilers and a minor in mathematics specializing in statistical analysis. He is also the designer and developer of applications, instructional materials, magazine articles, video presentations, and author of the books Developing with Delphi: Object-Oriented Techniques (Prentice-Hall, 1996), JBuilder 3 Unleashed (Sams, 1999) (as the lead author), Art of Java Web Development (Manning, 2003), and No Fluff, Just Stuff Anthology: The 2006 Edition (editor and contributor). His language proficiencies include Java, C#/.NET, Ruby, Object Pascal, C++, and C. His primary consulting focus is the design and construction of large-scale enterprise applications. Neal has taught on-site classes nationally and internationally to all phases of the military and to many Fortune 500 companies. He is also an internationally acclaimed speaker, having spoken at numerous developer conferences worldwide.If you have an insatiable curiosity about Neal, visit his web site at http://www.nealford.com. He welcomes feedback and can be reached at nford@thoughtworks.com.

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