C9 Lectures: Dr. Don Syme - Introduction to F#, 1 of 3

Posted By: Charles | Feb 4th @ 2:15 PM | 48,983 Views | 15 Comments
F# is Microsoft's first functional programming language to be included as one of Visual Studio's official set of languages. F# is a succinct, efficient, expressive functional/object-oriented programming language under joint development by Microsoft Developer Division and Microsoft Research. During the course of Erik Meijer's fantastic lecture series on functional programming fundamentals several of you asked for examples of specific topics in F#. Well, we listened.

Dr. Don Syme is a principal researcher in MSR Cambridge. He has a rich history in programming language research, design, and implementation (C# generics being one of his most recognized implementations), and is the principle creator of F#. Who better to lecture on the topic than Don? This three part series will serve as an introduction to F#, including insights into the rationale behind the history and creation of Microsoft's newest language.

Part 2
Part 3

Get the slides for this lecture here.

Read Don's Blog.
Rating:
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#Feb 4th @ 1:42 PM
PerfectPhase
PerfectPhase
"This is not war, this is pest control!" - Dalek to Cyberman

Really looking forward to watching this!

#Feb 4th @ 3:23 PM
dot_tom
dot_tom

Wow! I was not suspecting this. Putting F# aside for a moment, we all owe Don a pint for giving us generics!

#Feb 4th @ 5:03 PM
Bass
Bass
A computer once beat me at chess, but it was no match for me at kick boxing.

Very insightful. I really like this language, it's an advancement over C# in many ways.. I really like the fact that this language uses indentation instead of sentinels like { } for code blocks; that allows for both unstructured and non-OO programming; that it has an interactive shell; that it has a range operator and pipelining built in; and that it has BigInt literals (actually .NET didn't get BigInt until recently); and that map is apparently an important part of the language. Really cool stuff.

 

There should be a homework thing at the end though IMO. That helps audience participation.

#Feb 4th @ 5:26 PM
Ion Todirel
Ion Todirel
buuu

hi there, that's in Romanian btw, interesting choice Smiley

#Feb 4th @ 6:01 PM
Charles
Charles
Welcome Change

C9 is multicultural Wink

C

#Feb 4th @ 7:00 PM
keithfl
keithfl
keithfl

dot_tom wrote  ... "we all owe Don a pint for giving us generics!" ...

 

True, but dont forget Andrew Kennedy!! We owe him a pint for generics too! 

 

This is sensational!! I'm really looking forward to this!  Thanks to the great Eric Meijer ... thanks to Don Syme for doing this series! and thanks to Charles for helping make it happen! We love technical content on channel9! Please keep it coming!

 

kf

#Feb 4th @ 9:59 PM
JoshRoss
JoshRoss
A righteous infliction of retribution manifested by an appropriate agent.

I am not sure if there has ever been a better time to be a programmer.  It is simply fantastic that we can watch and learn from the greatest tool makers around, in an on-demand fashion.  Not to mention the incredible speed in which the tools are improved, the quality of the delivered product, and the swiftness that they make it into my reach.  This place is wonderful!  My only hope is that the presenters take as much out of these experiences as the members watching in their homes and workplaces do.

 

-Josh

#Feb 4th @ 10:33 PM
dot_tom
dot_tom

In case you missed it, there's a great interview with Erik on Hanselminutes.

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