In the latter half of the 2000s, a new kind of programming language seemed poised to take the steam out of the dominance of object-oriented programming languages and their hold over “mainstream” development. But these new languages, collectively referred to as “functional” languages, were nothing new. In fact, they’ve been a part of the language landscape since the late 80s, and arguably even longer than that. What makes a functional language, and what makes a functional language interesting? Most importantly, why do we care now, thirty years after their introduction?
Ted Neward is the CTO of iTrellis, a polyglot consultancy, and is an industry professional of twenty years’ experience. He speaks at conferences all over the world and writes regularly for a variety of publications across the Java, .NET, and other ecosystems. He currently resides in the Pacific Northwest with his wife, two sons, dog, four cats, eight laptops, seven tablets, nine phones, and a rather large utility bill.
