The Book of F#

Book of F#

Breaking Free with Managed Functional Programming
by Dave Fancher
March 2014, 312 pp.
ISBN-13: 
978-1-59327-552-5

F# brings the power of functional-first programming to the .NET Framework, a platform for developing software in the Microsoft Windows ecosystem. If you're a traditional .NET developer used to C# and Visual Basic, discovering F# will be a revelation that will change how you code, and how you think about coding.

In The Book of F#, Microsoft MVP Dave Fancher shares his expertise and teaches you how to wield the power of F# to write succinct, reliable, and predictable code. As you learn to take advantage of features like default immutability, pipelining, type inference, and pattern matching, you'll be amazed at how efficient and elegant your code can be.

You'll also learn how to:

  • Exploit F#'s functional nature using currying, partial application, and delegation
  • Streamline type creation and safety with record types and discriminated unions
  • Use collection types and modules to handle data sets more effectively
  • Use pattern matching to decompose complex types and branch your code within a single expression
  • Make your software more responsive with parallel programming and asynchronous workflows
  • Harness object orientation to develop rich frameworks and interact with code written in other .NET languages
  • Use query expressions and type providers to access and manipulate data sets from disparate sources

Break free of that old school of programming. The Book of F# will show you how to unleash the expressiveness of F# to create smarter, leaner code.

Author Bio 

Dave Fancher has been developing software with the .NET Framework for more than a decade. He is a familiar face in the Indiana development community as both a speaker and participant in user groups around the state. In July 2013, Dave was recognized as a Microsoft MVP (Most Valuable Professional) for Visual F#. When not writing code or writing about code at davefancher.com, he can often be found watching a movie or gaming on his Xbox One.

Table of contents 

Chapter 1: Meet F#
Chapter 2: F# Interactive
Chapter 3: Fundamentals
Chapter 4: Staying Objective
Chapter 5: Let’s Get Functional (PDF)
Chapter 6: Going to Collections
Chapter 7: Patterns, Patterns, Everywhere
Chapter 8: Measuring Up
Chapter 9: Can I Quote You on That?
Chapter 10: Data Access
Chapter 11: Asynchronous and Parallel Programming
Chapter 12: Compute This!

View the detailed Table of Contents (PDF)
View the Index (PDF)

Reviews 

"I recommend buying this book if you want to get a better grasp of F#, the language, or if you are working with teaching object oriented programmers to be more functional."
Henrik Feldt, Software Architect (Read More)

"The Book of F# will be very useful for developers who wish to learn the concepts associated with F# and can also be used as a ready reference guide."
InfoQ (Read More)