F#

F# brings the power of functional-first programming to the .NET Framework, a platform for developing software in the Microsoft Windows ecosystem. If you're a traditional .NET developer used to C# and Visual Basic, discovering F# will be a revelation that will change how you code, and how you think about coding.

In The Book of F#, Microsoft MVP Dave Fancher shares his expertise and teaches you how to wield the power of F# to write succinct, reliable, and predictable code. As you learn to take advantage of features like default immutability, pipelining, type inference, and pattern matching, you'll be amazed at how efficient and elegant your code can be.

You'll also learn how to:

• Exploit F#'s functional nature using currying, partial application, and delegation
• Streamline type creation and safety with record types and discriminated unions
• Use collection types and modules to handle data sets more effectively
• Use pattern matching to decompose complex types and branch your code within a single expression
• Make your software more responsive with parallel programming and asynchronous workflows
• Harness object orientation to develop rich frameworks and interact with code written in other .NET languages
• Use query expressions and type providers to access and manipulate data sets from disparate sources

Break free of that old school of programming. The Book of F# will show you how to unleash the expressiveness of F# to create smarter, leaner code.

F# Deep Dives presents a collection of real-world F# techniques, each written by expert practitioners. Each chapter presents a new use case where you'll read how the author used F# to solve a complex problem more effectively than would have been possible using a traditional approach. You'll not only see how a specific solution works in a specific domain, you'll also learn how F# developers approach problems, what concepts they use to solve them, and how they integrate F# into existing systems and environments.

Functional programming languages are good at expressing complex ideas in a succinct, declarative way. Functional concepts such as "immutability" and "function values" make it easier to reason about code—as well as helping with concurrency. The new F# language, LINQ, certain new features of C#, and numerous .NET libraries now bring the power of functional programming to .NET coders.

This book teaches the ideas and techniques of functional programming applied to real-world problems. You'll see how the functional way of thinking changes the game for .NET developers. Then, you'll tackle common issues using a functional approach. The book will also teach you the basics of the F# language and extend your C# skills into the functional domain. No prior experience with functional programming or F# is required.