On today's episode, Charles Max Wood, Joe Eames, and Tracy Lee discuss Reactive Programming and RxJS with Ben Lesh. Ben works at Netflix and also has a side job for Rx Workshop with Tracy. He is the lead author of RxJS 5. Tune in to learn more about RxJS!

JSJ 272: Functional Programming and ClojureScript with Eric Normand

This episode of JavaScript Jabber features panelists Aimee Knight and Charles Max Wood. Special guest Eric Normand is here to talk about functional programming and ClojureScript. Tune in to learn more!

[00:1:14] Introduction to Eric Normand

Eric works for purelyfunctional.tv. The main target market for his company is those people who want to transition into functional programming from their current job. He offers them support, shows them where to find jobs, and gives them the skills they need to do well.

[00:02:22] Address that quickly

Functional programming is used at big companies such as Wal-Mart, Amazon, EBay, Paypal, and banks. They all have Clojure but it is not used at the scale of Java or Ruby.

So yes, people are using it and it is influencing the mainstream programming industry.

[00:3:48] How do you build an application?

A common question Eric gets is, “How do I structure my application?” People are used to using frameworks. Most start from an existing app. People want a process to figure out how to take a set of features and turn it into code. Most that get into functional programming have development experience. The attitude in functional programming is that they do not want a framework. Clojure needs to be more beginner friendly. His talk is a four-step process on how to turn into code.

[00:05:56] Can you expand on that a little?

There are four steps to the process of structuring an application.

1. Develop a metaphor for what you are trying to do. Developing the first implementation. How would you build it if you didn’t have code?
2. Develop the operations. What are their properties? Example: will have to sort records chronological.
3. Develop relationships between the operations.
4. Run tests and refactor the program. Once you have that, you can write the prototype.

[00:13:13] Why can’t you always make the code better?

Rules can’t be refactored into new concepts. They have to be thrown away and started completely over. The most important step is to think before beginning to write code. It may be the hardest part of the process, but it will make the implementation easier.

[00:17:20] What are your thoughts on when people take it too far and it makes the code harder to read?

He personally has written many bad abstractions. Writing bad things is how you get better as a programmer. The ones that go too far are the ones that don’t have any basis or are making something new up. They are trying to be too big and use no math to back up their code.

[00:20:05] Is the hammock time when you decide if you want to make something abstract or should you wait until you see patterns develop?

He thinks people should think about it before, although always be making experiments that do not touch production.

[00:23:33] Is there a trade off between using ClojureScript and functional JavaScript?

In terms of functional programming in JavaScript don’t have some of the niceties that there are in Clojure script. Clojure Script has a large standard library. JavaScript is not as well polished for functional programming; it is a lot of work to do functional programming it and not as much support.

[00:27:00:] Dave Thomas believes that the future of software is functional programming. Do you agree?

Eric thinks that it seems optimistic. He doesn’t see functional programming take over the world but does think that it has a lot to teach. The main reason to learn functional programming is to have more tools in your toolbox.

[00:31:40] If this is a better way to solve these problems, why aren’t people using it?

There is a prejudice against functional programming. When Eric was first getting into it, people would ask why he was wasting his time. Believes that people are jaded. Functional programming feels foreign because people are used to a familiar way of programming; they usually start with a language and get comfortable.

[00:40:58] If people want to get started with it, is there an easy way in?

Lodash is great to start replacing for loops. It will clean up code. There are other languages that compile to JavaScript. For example, Elm is getting a lot of attention right now. It is a Haskell like syntax. If you want more of a heavyweight language, use TypeScript or PureScript. ClojureScript is into live programming. You are able to type, save, and see results of the code immediately on the screen in front of you.

Picks

Aimee:

• The Hidden Cost of Abstraction 
• What Functional Language Should I Learn 

Eric

• Steven King, On Writing 
• Youtube Channel: Tested  

Charles

• Ionic Framework

Links

• Purely Functional TV 
• Blog 
• Building Composable Abstractions 

Panel:

• Aimee Knight
• Joe Eames
• AJ ONeal

Special Guests: Jeremy Fairbank

In this episode, the JavaScript Jabber panel talks to Jeremy Fairbank about his talk Practical Functional Programming. Jeremy is a remote software developer and consultant for Test Double. They talk about what Test Double is and what they do there and the 6 things he touched on in his talk, such as hard to follow code, function composition, and mutable vs immutable data. They also touch on the theory of unit testing, if functional programming is the solution, and more!

In particular, we dive pretty deep on:

• Jeremy intro
• Works for Test Double
• What he means by “remote”
• What is Test Double?
• They believe software is broken and they are there to fix it
• His talk - Practical Functional Programming
• The 6 things he talked about in his talk
• Practical aspects that any software engineer is going to deal with
• Purity and the side effects of programming in general
• Hard to follow code
• Imperative VS declarative code
• Code breaking unexpectedly
• Mutable data VS immutable data
• The idea of too much code
• Combining multiple functions together to make more complex functions
• Function composition
• Elm, Elixir, and F#
• Pipe operator
• Scary to refactor code
• Static types
• The idea of null
• The theory of unit testing
• Is functional programming the solution?
• His approach from the talk
• And much, much more!

Links:

• Test Double
• His talk - Practical Functional Programming
• Elm
• Elixir
• F#
• @elpapapollo
• jeremyfairbank.com
• Jeremy’s GitHub
• Jeremy’s YouTube

Sponsors

• Kendo UI
• Sentry
• Digital Ocean

Picks:

Aimee

• American Dollar
• Force with lease

AJ

• Superfight

Joe

• The 2018 Web Developer Roadmap by Brandon Morelli
• Svelte

Jeremy

• Programming Elm
• The Secrets of Consulting by Gerald M. Weinberg
• Connect.Tech

Panel: 

• Joe Eames
• Aimee Knight
• AJ O'Neal
• Joe Eames

Special Guests: Christine Legge

In this episode, the JavaScript Jabber panel talks to Christine Legge about functional programming with Ramda. Christine is a front-end software engineer and just recently got a new job in New York working at Google. Ramda is a utility library in JavaScript that focuses on making it easier to write JavaScript code in a functional way. They talk about functional programming and what it is, using Ramda in Redux, and referential transparency. They also touch on why she first got into Ramda, compare Ramda to Lodash and Underscore, and more!

In particular, we dive pretty deep on:

• Chirstine intro 
• Works as a front-end software engineer
• What is Ramda? 
• JavaScript
• Utility library like Lodash and Underscore
• Lodash and Underscore VS Ramda
• Functional programming
• Ramda and Functional programming as a mindset
• Ramda at ZenHub
• Ramda with Redux and React
• What is referential transparency?
• Why would you use Ramda VS Lodash or Underscore?
• Why she first got into Ramda
• Didn’t always want to be a programmer
• Background in Math
• Learning functional programming as a new programmer
• Erlang
• DrRacket and Java
• Ramda makes it easy to compose functions
• Creating clean and reusable code
• How do you start using Ramda?
• And much, much more! 

Links:

• Ramda
• Lodash
• Underscore
• ZenHub
• Redux
• React
• Erlang
• DrRacket
• @leggechr
• Chirstine’s GitHub

Sponsors

• Kendo UI
• Sentry
• Digital Ocean

Picks:

Charles

• Home Depot Tool Rental
• Podcast Movement
• CES
• VRBO

Aimee

• Apple Cider Vinegar
• Jeremy Fairbank Talk – Practical Functional Programming

AJ

• Goat’s Milk

Joe

• Topgolf
• Framework Summit

Christine

• Dan Mangan
• Reply All Podcast

Sponsors

• Triplebyte offers a $1000 signing bonus
• Sentry use the code “devchat” for $100 credit
• Linode offers $20 credit
• CacheFly

Panel

• Aimee Knight
• AJ O’Neal
• Chris Ferdinandi

Episode Summary

In this episode of JavaScript Jabber, the panelists discuss each one’s definition of the term ‘pairing’ in programming, including factors like being remote or local, having different seniority levels and the various approaches of going about it in general. They talk about how valuable pairing is, in terms of benefiting the individual as well as how productive it is for the company or the overall business.

The panel also discuss prototyping, pseudo-coding and the advantages and trade-offs involved in pair programming. They talk about their own experiences in which pairing had proven to be extremely beneficial and the ones where it went completely wrong, thereby helping listeners understand the dos and don’ts of the technique. In the end, they elaborate on what actually happens in pairing interviews and the overall hiring process while sharing anecdotes from their own lives.

Links

Follow JavaScript Jabber on Devchat.tv, Facebook and Twitter.

Picks

Chris Ferdinandi:

• Enso Rings
• Vanilla JS Projects

AJ O’Neal:

• Salt and Pepper Grinder set
• Peppercorn blend
• Pink Himalayan salt

Aimee Knight:

• Enneagram test
• Kittyrama

Sponsors

• Adventures in Blockchain

• Sentry– use the code “devchat” for $100 credit 

• My Ruby Story

Panel

• Aimee Knight 

• Chris Buecheler

• AJ O’Neal

With Special Guest: Brian Lonsdorf

Episode Summary

Brian Lonsdorf works for Salesforce, specializes in functional programming, and wrote a book called Professor Frisby’s Mostly Adequate Guide to Functional Programming. Brian talks about when he got into functional programming and when in their career others should be exposed to it. He talks about the fundamental tenets of functional programming (static mathematical functions), how it differs from object oriented programming, and how to manipulate data in a functional environment. The panel wonders if it is possible to use functional and object oriented programming together and discuss the functional core imperative shell. Brian talks about what is ‘super functional’ and why JavaScript isn’t, but includes methods for making it work. He shares some of the trade-offs he’s found while doing functional programming. Brian defines a monad and goes over some of the common questions he gets about functional programming, such as how to model an app using functional programming. The show concludes with Brian talking about some of the work he’s been doing in AI and machine learning. 

Links

• Promise

• Functional core, imperative shell

• RxJs

• Monad

• Professor Frisby's Mostly Adequate Guide to Functional Programming

Follow DevChat on Facebook and Twitter

Picks

Aimee Knight:

• After The Burial (band)

Chris Buecheler:

• Minecraft in JavaScript

AJ O’Neal:

• Crazy Little Thing Called Love by Queen

• Greenlock v3 campaign

Brian Lonsdorf:

• Follow Brian @drboolean

• Chris Penner Comonads

Online Resource