What is a good starting point for functional programming?

Question

I like to learn languages ​​outside my comfort zone, but it was difficult for me to find a place for functional languages. I heard a lot of good things about the structure and interpretation of computer programs , but when I tried to read it a couple of years ago, it just seemed to whistle over my head. I make books better than websites, but when I am in my local bookstore, books on LISP look scary.

So what is a good starting point? My goal is to use a functional programming language to solve simple problems in 6 months or so, as well as the ability to switch to more complex topics, find out when a functional language is the right tool for work, and use the language to solve more problems in 2-3 years. I like books that are hard on examples, but also include problems for work. Is there such a thing for functional languages?

Answer 1

The Little Schemer teaches recursion very well, and it's fun and easy to read.

I also liked the Circuit Programming Language for a better understanding of the language.

Answer 2

Try Real World Haskell . It is free online.

Answer 3

SICP is a great book.

This is probably my prejudice, but I thought that okaml is pretty easy to get into. You have the option of programming in several different styles until you are completely comfortable. I posted a bunch of links to the Haskell and Ocaml links, which are examples books, etc. that seem to be right up your alley.

If you prefer Lisp, you can try using 99-issues in Lisp (which you can do in any language, really), or you can watch lectures from people who wrote SICP.

Further along the road take “ purely functional data structures ”, since it will go into a deep depth of design and considerations that you should consider in functional languages ​​are the use of ML (from which ocaml is derived).

Answer 4

I really recommend "On Lisp" by Paul Graham.

This is short and very readable even for beginners in functional programming (as it was when I read it). It contains many very short examples, each of which helps to understand one thing.

I often thought that I was reading this book: it is just a language that contains exactly those functions that I ever wanted in other (non-functional) languages, but never got it. :-( And this is just a book to recognize it always understandable, sometimes even funny!

You can get it for free on the author’s site !

Answer 5

I really like Thompsons "Haskell: Craft of Functional Programming" because it is well written and Haskell makes it easier to start than other functional languages, being completely clean (unlike Lisp or schema).

Answer 6

Since there are many different functional programming languages, it is difficult to recommend books. But if you are interested in Common Lisp, I recently read Peter Seibel's “Practical General Lisp,” which you can check online for free before dumping your hard-earned money on it. This is a pretty soft introduction to CL, with great explanations and lots of examples. Seibel is a great writer (example: read the Mac story ,) he keeps you well in sex, which is actually where SICP falls, I think it's just so dry! But while Practical Common Lisp is pretty heavy, it actually has no problems to work with, although the examples are mainly for you to keep working and build on them.

Another good book, this scheme is oriented: How to create programs . ( Internet ) I did not have so much time with this book that I was more Lisper than Schemer myself, but it is well written, has good explanations and examples, and has many exercises to work with. It seems pretty popular in the Scheme crowd.

Answer 7

Schemers manual and related software are very good material

http://www.schemers.com/tsg.html

Answer 8

Check out Introduction to Functional Programming . He offers a different perspective.

Answer 9

I found The Little Schemer , a great introduction to functional programming. It is entirely based on simple bite size examples that are book based.

Answer 10

I learned from Jeffrey Ullman Elements of ML Programming, which is pretty good. He loses points for being an ML standard when OCaml, F #, and Haskell are (apparently) more popular.

Answer 11

I believe that the purely functional data structures of Chris Okasaki deserve attention.

FYI http://www.cs.cmu.edu/~rwh/theses/okasaki.pdf

Answer 12

Haskell is a very good functional programming language for beginners. Someone asked about good resources for Haskell, so I will point you there .

If you are looking for a good book on functional programming, I would recommend Bruce J. MacLennan "Functional Programming: Practice and Theory."
However, you need you to type your typing theory and logic before letting it read. It includes examples in LISP, Haskell, and other languages.

Answer 13

If you have experience with .NET, Expert #F is good.

F # sourced from OCaml. Lisp is cleaner as functional languages ​​go.

Answer 14

Functional programming of the real world (with examples in F # and C #)

Answer 15

I heard good things about Haskell Functional Programming , but I also found this list of Amazon functionals that might be useful to you.