Introduction to Functional Programming
Functional Programming is a way of writing applications using only pure functions and immutable values. In this, a function has no side-effect. This helps find bugs easily and helps to know what the function will perform, finding the error.Functional programming is a significant paradigm shift in the software world over the past 10 years. Source: Reducing Maintenance Costs With Functional Programming, Forbes
Here, the function should be Parametric. Everything happens within the function, and any outside expression does not alter the function. It is crucial for Parallelism and Concurrency. Learn more about Functional Programming in Stream Analytics here.
Functional Programming Language
For a language to be known as a Functional Programming Language, it must follow the following methodologies.Pure Functions
These functions help achieve a safe way of programming. In Functional Programming, it is all about pure functions. These functions only work on their input parameters, thus, limiting the scope of errors. Pure Functions can be lazy. You can know about what the function implements by just looking at the signature of the Pure Functions. Few things that one needs to keep in mind while implementing a pure function is:- The pure function must take at least one parameter.
- Pure functions never change the output, given that the input is kept the same too. This helps in predicting the behavior up to some extent.
- Pure functions do not have side effects. Thus, debugging is quite easy.