Hacker News new | ask | show | jobs
by gbog 4607 days ago
Well, that's for theory. In practice I have yet to see a big CRUD like Facebook rewritten functional style, and would very interested to check how this magically dissolve the inherent complexity of such a beast.

Until then, I'd continue to think that functional is shiny and sexy but that the proven and pragmatic way to keep complexity in check is still the good old and boring oop way.
2 comments
wonderzombie 4607 days ago
As other commenters have said the point isn't the eliminate complexity. Some problems are actually inherently or irreducibly complex! The goal is to find ways to manage the complexity. Abstraction barriers are a trivial example[0]. Type systems are another approach, hopefully foisting the complex management of datatype correctness on the compiler rather than the programmer.

None of these approaches necessarily make the problem itself less complex. But as with a type system there are ways in which a language can help, or hinder. A language which adds too much complexity incidental to the problem you're trying to solve is an example. TFA is groping towards this point, but they did a poor job arguing it.

The proposition is that a functional language's abstractions, conventions, and patterns may make it easier to manage (not dissolve) complexity. It's hard to argue that (e.g.) functions which are referentially transparent are easier to reason about, for instance. Whether this is more difficult in the large, as a project scales, is unknown to me.

[0]: http://mitpress.mit.edu/sicp/full-text/sicp/book/node29.html

link
mercurial 4607 days ago
I don't think anybody is claiming that functional programming makes complexity magically go away. The claim is that functional programming (especially when backed by a strong static type system) makes several categories of issues essentially disappear. That's a much more reasonable claim to make.
link
JoeAltmaier 4607 days ago
And a very powerful property. Never mind conserving CPU or memory; the slowest component in any system is the wetware programming the system: you. I always try to use tools and techniques that eliminate the possibility of categories of bugs. I use scope to control use-counting when possible; I use as strong a type as is helpful in the tool I'm using etc.
link