Learn Functional Programming with Elixir: New Foundations for a New World

Elixir’s straightforward syntax and this guided tour give you a clean, simple path to learn modern functional programming techniques. No previous functional programming experience required! This book walks you through the right concepts at the right pace, as you explore immutable values and explicit data transformation, functions, modules, recursive functions, pattern matching, high-order functions, polymorphism, and failure handling, all while avoiding side effects. Don’t board the Elixir train with an imperative mindset! To get the most out of functional languages, you need to think functionally. This book will get you there.

Functional programming offers useful techniques for building maintainable and scalable software that solves today’s difficult problems. The demand for software written in this way is increasing – you don’t want to miss out. In this book, you’ll not only learn Elixir and its features, you’ll also learn the mindset required to program functionally. Elixir’s clean syntax is excellent for exploring the critical skills of using functions and concurrency.

Start with the basic techniques of the functional way: working with immutable data, transforming data in discrete steps, and avoiding side effects. Next, take a deep look at values, expressions, functions, and modules. Then extend your programming with pattern matching and flow control with case, if, cond, and functions. Use recursive functions to create iterations. Work with data types such as lists, tuples, and maps. Improve code reusability and readability with Elixir’s most common high-order functions. Explore how to use lazy computation with streams, design your data, and take advantage of polymorphism with protocols. Combine functions and handle failures in a maintainable way using Elixir features and libraries.

Learn techniques that matter to make code that lives harmoniously with the language.

What You Need:

You’ll need a computer and Elixir 1.4 or newer version installed. No previous functional programming or Elixir experience is required. Some experience with any programming language is recommended.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1. Thinking Functionally
Chapter 2. Working With Variables And Functions
Chapter 3. Using Pattern Matching To Control The Program Flow
Chapter 4. Diving Into Recursion
Chapter 5. Using Higher-Order Functions
Chapter 6. Designing Your Elixir Applications
Chapter 7. Handling Impure Functions
Appendix A1. Adding Rooms To The Game
Appendix A2. Answers To Exercises