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Using Ocaml to learn FP. What FP concepts should I touch on? (lemy.lol)

submitted 9 months ago by matcha_addict@lemy.lol to c/programming@programming.dev

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cross-posted from: https://lemy.lol/post/19181146

I just started to learn Ocaml to learn functional programming. I will use it to build a CLI that's mostly orchestrating other programs.

My experience is mostly in JS / TS, but I've also coded a good bit in Python and Lua.

Below, I provided a list of things I learned or focused on while using OCaml. But I feel like I must be missing something. This is only moderately different from what I'm used to in JS. I expected something more radical. Moreover, I constantly hear a lot of FP jargon (like "highly kinded types", monads, etc) that I feel am still missing.

So far, here's what I studied:

immutability

avoid side affects

static typing

recursion instead of loops

option / maybe

higher order functions

conditionals and other constructs as expressions, when they're statements in other languages

pipelines and functions as input —> output

currying

scoping with let

What am I missing?

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[–] ericjmorey@programming.dev 7 points 9 months ago (1 children)

Whatever you're not familiar in the digital textbook OCaml Programming: Correct + Efficient + Beautiful

There's a whole chapter on modules

There's also a section on Monads

You should also know that there is a schism in OCaml ecosystem created by the libraries developed by Jane Street and the those developed by INRIA.

[–] matcha_addict@lemy.lol 1 points 9 months ago (1 children)

I did see the Jane street stuff. Is it better to use them instead of the standard library?

[–] ericjmorey@programming.dev 1 points 9 months ago

I don't know if one is better than the other, but knowing that certain libraries are incompatible based on this bifurcation is a good thing to remember.