Functional programming is a programming paradigm which involves the process of building software by composing pure functions, avoiding shared states, mutable data, and side effects. This paradigm is declarative rather than imperative, and the application state flows through pure functions. The jargon presented above is explained below:
- Pure Function: A function that if it is given the same inputs, always returns the same output without side-effects
- Composing Functions: This is the process of combining two or more functions so as to come up with a new function or perform some computation.
- Shared state: This is any variable, object, or memory space whose scope is shared.
Features of Haskell
From Haskell’s main page, the following are the features that this programming language is proud to have:
- Statically typed: Every expression in Haskell has a type which is determined at compile time.
- Purely functional: Every function in Haskell is a function in the mathematical sense (i.e., “pure”). Even side-effecting IO operations are but a description of what to do, produced by pure code.
- Type inference: You don’t have to explicitly write out every type in a Haskell program. Types will be inferred by unifying every type bidirectionally.
- Concurrent: Haskell lends itself well to concurrent programming due to its explicit handling of effects. Its flagship compiler, GHC, comes with a high-performance parallel garbage collector and lightweight concurrency library containing a number of useful concurrency primitives and abstractions.
- Lazy: Functions don’t evaluate their arguments. This means that programs can compose together very well, with the ability to write control constructs (such as if/else) just by writing normal functions.
- Packages: Open source contribution to Haskell is very active with a wide range of packages available on the public package servers.
If you would wish to learn this purely functional programming language, the following are some resources you can take advantage of to get started:
1. Learn You a Haskell for Great Good!
This is a beginner’s guide for those who want to master Haskell. This is a detailed guide that will nicely get you started on this complex functional language. It is packed with the author’s artwork, references and real-world examples of code.
The guidebook starts with the basic fundamentals of Haskell such as basic syntax, recursion, types and type classes. With time, you get to the real black belt master-class stuff. By the end, you will understand how to use applicative functors, monads, zippers, and all other mythical Haskell constructs.
By reading this guide to the end:
- You will understand the different functional programming techniques used in Haskell.
- Play with the infinite sets of data using the magic of Haskell’s “laziness”
- Create your own types, type classes, and modules that can be used to organize your programs
- Use the input/output system of Haskell to share your programs with the world.
Get a copy using the link:
2. Practical Haskell 3rd Edition
For those experienced programmers who may be new to the Haskell programming language and have some prior exposure to Haskell, you should consider picking up this resource to advance your Haskell skills. Author Alejandro Serrano Mena is working towards his PhD thesis in the Software Technology group at Utrecht University. He is passionate about functional programming and has been coding Haskell for personal and professional projects for more than five years.
This book contains excellent coverage of the Haskell ecosystem and supporting tools, including Cabal and Stack for managing projects, HUnit and QuickCheck for software testing, the Spock framework for developing web applications, Persistent and Esqueleto for database access, and parallel and distributed programming libraries.
You’ll see how functional programming is gathering momentum, allowing you to express yourself in a more concise way, reducing boilerplate, and increasing the safety of your code. Haskell is an elegant and noise-free pure functional language with a long history, having a huge number of library contributors and an active community. This makes Haskell the best tool for both learning and applying functional programming and Practical Haskell takes advantage of this to show off the language and what it can do.
What You Will Learn
- Get started programming with Haskell
- Examine the different parts of the language
- Gain an overview of the most important libraries and tools in the Haskell ecosystem
- Apply functional patterns in real-world scenarios
- Understand monads and monad transformers
- Proficiently use laziness and resource management
3. Programming in Haskell
Author Graham Hutton is a Professor of Computer Science at the University of Nottingham. He has taught Haskell to thousands of students and received many awards for his teaching. On top of that, he wrote this resource to make sure that he can reach more people interested in learning Haskell around the globe.
Talking about this resource, it is based on the author’s experience of teaching Haskell for more than twenty years. All concepts are explained from first principles and no programming experience is required, making this book accessible to a broad spectrum of readers. While Part One focuses on basic concepts, Part Two introduces the reader to more advanced topics. This new edition has been extensively updated and expanded to include recent and more advanced features of Haskell, new examples and exercises, selected solutions, and freely downloadable lecture slides and example code. The presentation is clean and simple, while also being fully compliant with the latest version of the language, including recent changes concerning applicative, monadic, foldable, and traversable types.
This is a book that absolutely anyone can read. It begins with the basics and climbs the ladder as slowly as possible so that everyone can arrive at the sweet destination in the end. Click below to get your copy home from Amazon below:
4. Haskell from the Very Beginning
In Haskell from the Very Beginning, author John Whitington takes a no-prerequisites approach to teaching the basics of a modern general-purpose programming language. Each small, self-contained chapter introduces a new topic, building until the reader can write quite substantial programs. There are plenty of questions and, crucially, worked answers and hints.
Spread over twenty-two chapters, the book will appeal both to new programmers and to experienced programmers eager to explore functional languages such as Haskell. It is suitable both for formal use within an undergraduate or graduate curriculum and for the interested amateur.
For beginners and those who are eager to sharpen or spruce up what they had already read about Haskell, author John Whitington will bring out the best in you at a slow and sure pace into this wonderful functional programming language. Pick it up from the link below and read it at your own pace and all will be well.
5. Real World Haskell
This book contains excellent coverage and easy-to-read tutorial on the Haskell ecosystem and supporting tools, including Cabal and Stack for managing projects, HUnit and QuickCheck for software testing, the Spock framework for developing web applications, concurrency etc.
You will see how functional programming is gathering momentum, allowing you to express yourself in a more concise way, reducing boilerplate, and increasing the safety of your code. Haskell is an elegant and noise-free pure functional language with a long history, having a huge number of library contributors and an active community. This makes Haskell the best tool for both learning and applying functional programming and Practical Haskell takes advantage of this to show off the language and what it can do.
What You Will Learn
- The difference between procedural and functional programming
- Examine the different features of Haskell and learn how to use them when developing applications
- Gain an overview of the most important libraries and tools in the Haskell ecosystem
- Understand filesystems, databases, and network services
- Understand how to write solid code with automated tests, code coverage, and error handling
- Know how to use multicore systems via concurrent and parallel programming
If you are an experienced programmer who may be new to the Haskell programming language, you should bet on this resource. It will broaden your perspective, your skillset and let you shine in this new adventure. Click below to get this resource as part of your book collection.
6. Becoming Functional
Joshua F. Backfield is a Senior Software Development Engineer at Dell SecureWorks, Inc., an industry-leading MSSP. He is responsible for the design and development of many internal UI tools as well as multiple backend processes.
If you have an imperative (and probably object-oriented) programming background, this hands-on book will guide you through the alien world of functional programming. Author Joshua Backfield begins slowly by showing you how to apply the most useful implementation concepts before taking you further into functional-style concepts and practices.
Haskell is functional and having knowledge about functional programming will come a long way in making your Haskell study as smooth and as amazing as possible for you. In case you are completely green in the new functional programming paradigm, then a good introduction is as good as laughter.
In each chapter, you will learn a functional concept and then use it to refactor the fictional XXY company’s imperative-style legacy code, writing and testing the functional code yourself. As you progress through the book, you will migrate from Java 7 to Groovy and finally to Haskell as the need for better functional language support gradually increases.
While reading, you will:
- Learn why today’s finely-tuned applications work better with functional code
- Transform imperative-style patterns into functional code, following basic steps
- Get up to speed with Groovy and Scala through examples
- Understand how first-class functions are passed and returned from other functions
- Convert existing methods into pure functions, and loops into recursive methods
- Change mutable variables into immutable variables
- Get hands-on experience with statements and nonstrict evaluations
- Use functional programming alongside object-oriented design
Walk along this path of functional programming and then advance to study Haskell or any other functional language out there. It is like taking a reconnaissance. It is refreshing and will make your adventure in the new functional territory terrific. Get it from Amazon below.
7. Thinking Functionally with Haskell
Richard Bird is famed for the clarity and rigour of his writing. His new textbook, which introduces functional programming to students, emphasizes fundamental techniques for reasoning mathematically about functional programs. By studying the underlying equational laws, the book enables students to apply calculational reasoning to their programs, both to understand their properties and to make them more efficient. The book has been designed to fit a first- or second-year undergraduate course and is a thorough overhaul and replacement of his earlier textbooks. It features case studies in Sudoku and pretty-printing, and over 100 carefully selected exercises with solutions. This engaging text will be welcomed by students and teachers alike.
8. Get Programming with Haskell
Written for readers who know one or more programming languages, Will Kurt introduces you to the Haskell language without drowning you in academic jargon and heavy functional programming theory.
The book leads you through short lessons, examples, and exercises designed to make Haskell your own. It has crystal-clear illustrations and guided practice. You will write and test dozens of interesting programs and dive into custom Haskell modules. You will gain a new perspective on programming plus the practical ability to use Haskell in the everyday world.
What is Inside
- Thinking in Haskell
- Functional programming basics
- Programming in types
- Real-world applications for Haskell
Spanning over forty lessons, Kurt who is a data scientist will boost your programming career with this Haskell jewel. Enjoy the clear illustrations and practices as you learn your way to the best. Check it out on Amazon below:
9. Haskell in Depth
Author Vitaly Bragilevsky in this book explores the important language features and programming skills you will need to build production-quality software using Haskell. He has been teaching Haskell and functional programming to undergraduate students at the Southern Federal University located in Rostov-on-Don, Russia. Along the way in your study, you will pick up some interesting insights into why Haskell looks and works the way it does. Get ready to go deep!
Haskell in Depth is the perfect second book on Haskell. After a quick refresher on Haskell basics, this hands-on guide dives into examples and application scenarios designed to teach how Haskell works and how to apply it correctly. You will learn about managing projects with Cabal and Stack, tackle error handling and testing, and package programs and libraries for production deployment. Click below and get skilled.
10. Algorithm Design with Haskell 1st Edition
This book covers the 5 main principles of algorithm design which are divide and conquer, greedy algorithms, thinning, dynamic programming, and exhaustive search. All these principles are well presented using Haskell which produces simpler and shorter programs that would be obtained using imperative languages.
The book also uses great examples that are relevant and bring out the similarities as well as differences between algorithms. It also provides clarification and applicability conditions and correctness arguments during algorithm development. Each chapter provides exercises with answers to cement your understanding and apply the skills gathered to solve a range of problems.
This guidebook can serve as study material for students, researchers, teachers, and professionals who seek to understand deeper what happens in good algorithms and how to express such algorithms in purely functional terms.
You can get a copy of the guide using the below link:
Concluding Remarks
Get into this new programming paradigm with the right resources in your library that you can rely on to take you to the place you would wish to be. Even though functional code is not easy a variety of materials will help you clear the clutter and let sunshine in. With a mix of videos and tutorials, the books above will a great help for your journey.
Finally, we thank you for your visit, your comments and the tremendous support that motivates us to keep on. Other guides you may enjoy include the following:
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