Learning F# Functional Data Structures and Algorithms

Get started with F# and explore functional programming paradigm with data structures and algorithms

About This Book

• Design data structures and algorithms in F# to tackle complex computing problems
• Understand functional programming with examples and easy-to-follow code samples in F#
• Provides a learning roadmap of the F# ecosystem with succinct illustrations

Who This Book Is For

If you have just started your adventure with F#, then this book will help you take the right steps to become a successful F# coder. An intermediate knowledge of imperative programming concepts, and a basic understanding of the algorithms and data structures in .NET environments using the C# language and BCL (Base Class Library), would be helpful.

What You Will Learn

• Familiarize yourself with the functional programming nature of F# and explore its fundamentals
• Utilize data structures available in F# and apply recursion and lazy evaluation
• Gain insights into functional programming paradigms; dissect F# code and analyze code available in community projects
• Build abstract data structures and utilize powerful optimization techniques such as memoization
• Explore and test built-in F# bespoke data structures and algorithms
• Become resourceful and learn how to easily reuse libraries contributed by the C# and F# community
• Understand the trade-offs in selecting purely functional (persistent) over mutable data structures
• Implement custom ADT (Abstract Data Type), and discover parallel programming and asynchrony within F#

In Detail

F# is a multi-paradigm programming language that encompasses object-oriented, imperative, and functional programming language properties. The F# functional programming language enables developers to write simple code to solve complex problems.

Starting with the fundamental concepts of F# and functional programming, this book will walk you through basic problems, helping you to write functional and maintainable code. Using easy-to-understand examples, you will learn how to design data structures and algorithms in F# and apply these concepts in real-life projects. The book will cover built-in data structures and take you through enumerations and sequences. You will gain knowledge about stacks, graph-related algorithms, and implementations of binary trees. Next, you will understand the custom functional implementation of a queue, review sets and maps, and explore the implementation of a vector. Finally, you will find resources and references that will give you a comprehensive overview of F# ecosystem, helping you to go beyond the fundamentals.

Table of Contents

Chapter 1. Embrace the Truth
Chapter 2. Now Lazily Get Over It, Again
Chapter 3. What’s in the Bag Anyway?
Chapter 4. Are We There Yet?
Chapter 5. Let’s Stack Up
Chapter 6. See the Forest for the Trees
Chapter 7. Jumping the Queue
Chapter 8. Quick Boost with Graph
Chapter 9. Sets, Maps, and Vectors of Indirections
Chapter 10. Where to Go Next?