Pacific Northwest Software Symposium
September 23 - 25, 2011
Functional Thinking in Java 8, Clojure, Groovy, and Scala
Saturday - Sep 24 9:00 AM PDT - Lake Washington
Learning the syntax of a new language is easy, but learning to think under a different paradigm is hard.
Learning the syntax of a new language is easy, but learning
to think under a different paradigm is hard. This session
helps you transition from a Java writing imperative programmer to a
functional programmer, using Java, Clojure and Scala for
examples. This session takes common
topics from imperative languages and looks at alternative ways of
solving those problems in functional languages. As a Java developer, you know how to achieve code-reuse
via mechanisms like inheritance and polymorphism. Code reuse is
possible in functional languages as well, using high-order
functions, composition, and multi-methods. I show examples from my book Functional Thinking of shifting your perspective on problems, ceding messy details to the language, working smarter, not harder, and how to deal with multiparadigm languages.
Neal Ford
Director / Software Architect / Meme Wrangler
About Neal Ford
Neal is Director, Software Architect, and Meme Wrangler at ThoughtWorks, a global IT consultancy with an exclusive focus on end-to-end software development and delivery.
Before joining ThoughtWorks, Neal was the Chief Technology Officer at The DSW Group, Ltd., a nationally recognized training and development firm. Neal has a degree in Computer Science from Georgia State University specializing in languages and compilers and a minor in mathematics specializing in statistical analysis.
He is also the designer and developer of applications, instructional materials, magazine articles, video presentations, and author of 6 books, including the most recent The Productive Programmer. His language proficiencies include Java, C#/.NET, Ruby, Groovy, functional languages, Scheme, Object Pascal, C++, and C. His primary consulting focus is the design and construction of large-scale enterprise applications. Neal has taught on-site classes nationally and internationally to all phases of the military and to many Fortune 500 companies. He is also an internationally acclaimed speaker, having spoken at over 100 developer conferences worldwide, delivering more than 600 talks. If you have an insatiable curiosity about Neal, visit his web site at http://www.nealford.com. He welcomes feedback and can be reached at nford@thoughtworks.com.