Readable Functional Languages

Alexander Williams thantos at chancel.org
Wed Feb 2 19:35:52 EST 2000


On 3 Feb 2000 00:33:19 +0100, Carel Fellinger <cfelling at iae.nl> wrote:
>Admittedly off topic, I would like some advice on what language to choose
>to explore the realm of functional languages given that I can't cope with
>'impure' languages like C, C++ and Perl and that I love Python mostly for
>its readability and its adherence to the principle of least surprise that
>lures me into thinking that it has no dark corners.

You really have two /good/ choices:

If you're a traditionalist and parens don't scare you, Scheme is a
really good platform for exploring functional programming.  Its not a
'pure' language, as such, but it can be programmed in a very pure
style.

If you're more daring, you can give Haskell a shake.  It /is/ a pure
functional language and, as such, has some wackiness around state and
external IO, but it /definitely/ can do some interesting things if you
start wrapping your head around it.

Skaller, another member of our little coterie, has an affinity for
OCaml, whose syntax is somewhat like Haskell, but I prefer Haskell for
asthetic and other interface reasons.  Thankfully, tastes differ.  :)

Happy hacking!

-- 
Alexander Williams (thantos at gw.total-web.net)           | In the End,
  "Join the secret struggle for the soul of the world." | Oblivion
  Nobilis, a new Kind of RPG                            | Always
  http://www.chancel.org                                | Wins



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