June pdxfunc: Functional Programming With Dynamic Languages

Monday's topic for the Portland Functional Programming Study Group (pdxfunc) has been announced. The meeting will take place Monday, June 9, 7pm, at CubeSpace on Grand Avenue.

Please join us at the next meeting of pdxfunc, the Portland Functional Programming Study Group. The group meets monthly for presentations, demos and discussions. We welcome programmers interested in all functional languages, and the meetings feature content for coders of all skill levels. If interested, please subscribe to our mailing list at

http://groups.google.com/group/pdxfunc

PRESENTATION:

Title: Functional programming with dynamic languages

Summary: Dynamic, multi-paradigm languages such as Ruby, Python and Perl allow programmers great flexibility in how they can write their code, although most use an imperative (AKA "procedural") style. However, using a functional style selectively can help provide clearer and shorter code, reduce bugs, and improve performance. This presentation will provide a basic overview of functional programming, sample code demonstrating how to use functional programming features of dynamic languages, compare and contrast code samples of functional and imperative styles, and discuss when each style is appropriate. No previous knowledge of functional programming is necessary.

Bio: Igal Koshevoy is a Business-Technology Consultant with over a decade of experience creating sophisticated, business-critical systems using open source technologies. He is the author of an open source server automation toolkit available at "automateit.org", and supports local community efforts through Calagator, Portland Ruby Brigade, Portland Functional Programming Study Group, Legion of Tech, Ignite Portland, etc.

See you there!

PS: Sorry for the short notice, but Kevin's talk on XML parsing with Haskell had to be delayed. Hopefully he'll be able to present it next month.