An introduction to functional programming through Lambda calculus
by Greg Michaelson · first published 2011
93% recommend7% neutral
Why HN recommends it
Builds lambda calculus from simple substitution through basic functions and list processing, then shows how it grows into an ML-like language. Needs no math background; suits newcomers to functional programming.
Summarised by Claude from recommending comments
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For those who want to grok lambda calculus, I would highly recommend "An Introduction to Functional Programming Through Lambda Calculus" book by Greg Michaelson[0]. After going through the book, I could say that you're brain will adapt the functional programming paradigm if you are used to the imperative programming language. Functional…
on “Towards λ-calculus” ↗There’s an actual Dover Publications programming book that I really enjoy: "An Introduction to Functional Programming Through Lambda Calculus" [1]. So far it’s been enlightening, and even though it’s a 1989 reprint it doesn’t feel all that aged except for some of the semantics used (e.g. ALL_CAPS variable/function names). The bibliography…
on “C.S. on the cheap” ↗…http://smallshire.org.uk/sufficientlysmall/2010/04/11/a-hind... 1. https://github.com/alehander42/hermetic 2. https://github.com/billpmurphy/hask 3. http://andrej.com/plzoo/ Edit: Oh, and one more resource that's been extremely helpful has been "Introduction to Functional Programming through Lambda Calculus" by Michaelson. Well worth the cost of the book.
on “Show HN: Hindley-Milner Type Inference Algorithm in OCaml” ↗Study lambda calculus first. An Introduction to Functional Programming Through Lambda Calculus Book by Greg Michaelson It's amazing it was published 31 years ago (1989) which shows that it's a timeless book to read. This has been referenced from discussions a couple of times: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=6093386…
on “Ask HN: How did you learn functional programming?” ↗An Introduction to Functional Programming Through Lambda Calculus by Greg Michaelson really spells out the lambda calculus. Regarding combinators the famous intro is the latter half of Raymond Smullyan's To Mock a Mockingbird.
on “Lambda Calculus in 400 Bytes” ↗A much more thorough, free book along similar lines is: "An Introduction to Functional Programming Through Lambda Calculus" http://www.macs.hw.ac.uk/~greg/books/gjm.lambook88.ps There's also this: "Introduction to Lambda Calculus" by Henk Barendregt , Erik Barendsen http://citeseer.ist.psu.edu/barendregt94introduction.html
on “An Introduction to Lambda Calculus and Scheme” ↗I would recommend [0] An Introduction to Functional Programming Through Lambda Calculus. This does not require any mathematical background, starting from simple substitution through list processing. This is a good opportunity to introduce lambda calculus since the child is interested. I…
on “Ask HN: How to explain functional programming to my 13-year old?” ↗…free grammars, regular expressions and implement grep: Compiler Construction Using Java, JavaCC, and Yacc, IEEE/Wiley, 2012 [2] If you want to learn functional programming, lambda calculus and LISP: An Introduction to Functional Programming Through Lambda Calculus by Greg Michaelson [3] My programming skills had grown dramatically with this books. I would wholeheartedly recommend the books mentioned above for those who are interested to learn. [0] - http://cs.newpaltz.edu/~dosreist/…
on “Ask HN: What are your favorite books?” ↗…Language and Computer Architecture Using C++ and Java , Course Technology, 2004 by Anthony J. Dos Reis 2. Compiler Construction Using Java, JavaCC, and Yacc, IEEE/Wiley, 2012 by Anthony J. Dos Reis 3. An Introduction to Functional Programming Through Lambda Calculus by Greg Michaelson I'm lazy now so just look on my previous comment: [0] - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=12099943
on “Ask HN: What three books impacted your career the most?” ↗I really enjoyed An Introduction to Functional Programming Through Lambda Calculus - by Greg Michaelson It helps you build it up through basic building blocks
on “Ask HN: What was your “why didn't I start doing this sooner” moment?” ↗Best resource I've found is a book called "Introduction to Functional Programming through Lambda Calculus": https://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Functional-Programming-C...
on “Why I Don't Love Gödel, Escher, Bach” ↗I have good experience with this book: An Introduction to Functional Programming Through Lambda Calculus https://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Functional-Programming-C... It starts with the general rules of lambda calculus, then build up some basic functions (like in the PDF linked in this thread) and continues…
on “Lambda Calculus Examples (2009) [pdf]” ↗I think anybody who wants to understand Functional Programming should start with Lambda Calculus. I highly recommend An Introduction to Functional Programming Through Lambda Calculus by Greg Michaelson. You can then see how to express Functional Techniques in your language of choice (i.e. one you already know well eg; Functional Programming in C++ by Ivan Cukic) before learning a…
on “Two Vexing Problems in Functional Programming” ↗"An Introduction to Functional Programming Through Lambda Calculus" by Greg Michaelson - takes you on a journey from very basic lambda calculus, to how that evolves quite naturally into an ML-like language: https://www.macs.hw.ac.uk/~greg/books/gjm.lambook88.pdf We…
on “Ask HN: Do you recall any book or course that made a topic finally click?” ↗If anyone is looking for a book on lambda calculus, I really enjoyed An Introduction to Functional Programming Through Lambda Calculus by Greg Michaelson [1] [1] https://www.amazon.com/Introduction-Functional-Programming-C...
on “It’s Lambdas All the Way Down” ↗