Why functional programming matters (1990) [pdf]
Rant ahead.<p>Functional programming discussions on HN are pretty depressing. Many of the statements about FP that I see here right now are the same old shit I&#x27;ve heard about Java in mid 00s. You just need to mentally translate some buzzwords, but the essence is the same. Seems like the software industry is just running in circles. Something get hyped, people jump on it, fail, then search for the next bandwagon.<p>Some examples:<p>1. Endless yammering about low-level correctness. As if it&#x27;s biggest problem in software engineering right now. In reality, most domains don&#x27;t need perfection. They just need a reasonably low defect rate, which is not that hard to achieve if you know what you&#x27;re doing.<p>2. Spewing of buzzwords, incomprehensible tirades about design patterns. FP people don&#x27;t use the term &quot;design pattern&quot; often, but that&#x27;s what most monadic stuff really is. Much of it is rather trivial stuff once you cut through the terminology. (Contrast this with talks by someone like Rich Hickey, who manages to communicate complex and broad concepts with no jargon.)<p>3. People who talk about &quot;maintainability&quot; of things while clearly never having to maintain a large body of someone else&#x27;s code.<p>Etc.<p>---<p>The #1 problem in software right now is not correctness or modularity or some other programming buzzword. It&#x27;s the insane, ever-growing level of complexity and the resulting lack of human agency affecting both IT professionals and users.