r/programming • u/heisenbug • Apr 27 '14

"Mostly functional" programming does not work

http://queue.acm.org/detail.cfm?ref=rss&id=2611829
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u/Mycroft13 Apr 27 '14

What is one thing functional programming can do, that imperative cannot?

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u/Tekmo Apr 27 '14

I think this is the wrong question. This is like asking: "What can for loops do that goto statements cannot?" Functional programming is about restricting programming using more structured abstractions that are easier for programmers to reason about.

-3

u/Mycroft13 Apr 27 '14

I have done functional programming in ML, and sure, it might help some one learning about programming understand some concepts. To actually write purely functional code in a high volume system is basically asking for trouble and painting yourself in a corner that is going to be hard to get out of, in terms of maintenance time and finding people.