DEV Community

Discussion on: Why isn't functional programming the norm?

Collapse
 
eljayadobe profile image
Eljay-Adobe

It takes time for an up-and-coming programming paradigm to spread. And the language (as a tool) has to be practical, in that is useful to solving the problem at hand superior to the tried-and-true tools that are entrenched.

I foresee a future where FP languages and DSL are dominant. But MP and OO and SP languages will still be extent, rather than extinct. And there is also a strong possibility that the popular languages of today which are still growing and evolving, say C++, will incorporate FP into the core language to make it a viable option in the FP space against other FP languages.

Within the FP community, there's a bit of contention regarding "pure" and "impure" languages. F# is an "impure" FP language, but I prefer to consider it a pragmatic FP language.

There's also a bit of an identity crisis as to what is and isn't part-and-parcel for being a functional programming language. For example, wikipedia categorizes a lot of languages as being "functional programming languages" which are marginally (at best!) for being seriously consider FP. I consider that the kind of misinformation that can muddy the waters. (I've seen the same problem with what is/isn't "unit testing". The terminology has been used with so many different conflicting semantics that it becomes a communication impediment when discussing "unit testing".)