Functional Language Recommendations

This cluster features discussions recommending functional programming languages such as Haskell, OCaml, F#, Scala, Clojure, and others to programmers seeking alternatives to imperative languages for learning new paradigms.

📉 Falling 0.3x Programming Languages
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Keywords

CS e.g HN ML FIX CLR HACL JavaScript PureScript FP haskell functional ocaml scala functional languages languages clojure language lisp functional language

Sample Comments

chc Sep 23, 2010 View on HN

You should go for a functional language like Haskell, Clojure or OCaml/F#. They're mainstream/practical enough that you could write real programs in them, but different enough from the imperative languages you already know that they'll open your mind to new things.

smabie Mar 29, 2020 View on HN

I would say: Scala, Haskell or OCaml.

cies Dec 30, 2021 View on HN

Have you tried Haskell/Purescript/Elm or LISPs?

rataata_jr May 19, 2020 View on HN

Have you tried Haskell? What was your experience?

gaius Nov 6, 2010 View on HN

Haskell is great! And there's OCaml and F# too...

pjmlp Jul 14, 2021 View on HN

You can already pick up Haskell, Swift, OCaml or F# for that purpose, no need for yet another language.

lmm Apr 23, 2018 View on HN

I'd go for F#, OCaml, Scala, or possibly Rust.Elm, Purescript and ReasonML feel like much smaller communities that I wouldn't trust to necessarily make for a good long-term investment; Haskell is a bit too much of a jump to get productive in immediately. If you learn like I do - incrementally - then you want a strictly-evaluated, mainstream-ey language that allows you to write side effects without tracking them, just to start with.

gbersac Sep 27, 2019 View on HN

Did you tried scala? A quite mainstream functionnal programming language inspired by the ML family. I personally love it.

psibi Jun 20, 2016 View on HN

What do you think about functional languages like Haskell, OCaml etc ?

adamnemecek Jun 28, 2021 View on HN

You should check out OCaml, Rust or Scala.