This document summarizes a presentation about the functional programming language F#. It discusses key differences between functional and imperative programming, popular functional languages, why F# was developed, how to work with F# in Visual Studio, important concepts like immutability and pipeline operators, libraries like the F# Powerpack, parallel programming capabilities, and resources for learning more. The presentation was given by Rob Rohr on September 11, 2010 in Kalkin Hall at the University of Vermont.

1. Tech for Devs:Introduction to F#Rob Rohr12:30 - 1:30Sep 11, 2010Kalkin HallUniversity of Vermont

2. Functional ProgrammingEmphasize application of functions over mutation of state (imperative programming style)

3. Um. Yeah. What?Functionalfun inc x => x + 1Imperativex = x + 1

4. Important differencesAcademics – especially mathematicians - love functional programming!Type safety through inferenceLack of side effects

5. Heh! What is it good for?Mathematical modelingProgramming languagesi.e., DSLsList processingParallel programmingConcise code, fewer bugs!(“Absolutely nothing?”)

6. Popular functional programming languagesErlangLispSchemeHaskellOCaml/MLF#

7. Why F#, then?Superset of OCamlFull access to .NETObject OrientedFirst class toolsUnits!Y!

8. DEMOWorking with F# in Visual Studio

9. Important: LetLet keywordNot assignment

10. Binds value to symbol

11. ImmutableImportant: |>Pipeline operator ( |> )Feed results of one function into input of nextTakes advantage of easy composition of functionsRemoves many possible errors

12. Important: funDefine a function in lineAnonymous functionLambda expression!

13. F# Powerpackhttp://fsharppowerpack.codeplex.com/Matrix libraryFsLexx & FsYaccLINQ in F#HTML Docs from F# codeHashMultiMapSI Units of Measure

14. Parallelizable!How do I parallelize my map/reduce/fold code?Seq.map -> Seq.pmapetc.

15. AvailabilityYOU MAY ALREADY HAVE IT Included in Visual Studio 2010OR, FOR FREE, Can install VS2010 Shell with August release of F# 2.0Can install VS2008 Shell with August release of F# 2.0Can install F# 2.0 for Mono/Mac/Linux/Windowshttp://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/cambridge/projects/fsharp/release.aspx

16. ResourcesF# Developer Centerhttp://fsharp.netParallel Sampleshttp://tomasp.net/blog/fsharp-parallel-samples.aspxChris Smith bloghttp://blogs.msdn.com/b/chrsmith/Luca Bolognese bloghttp://lucabolognese.wordpress.com/

17. More ResourcesF# at Microsoft Researchhttp://research.microsoft.com/en-us/um/cambridge/projects/fsharp/Don Syme’s bloghttp://blogs.msdn.com/b/dsyme/Luke Hoban’s bloghttp://blogs.msdn.com/b/lukeh/