Getting Clojure: Build Your Functional Skills One Idea at a Time

Description

Behind every programming language lies avisionof how programs should be built. The vision behind Clojure is of a radically simple language framework holding together a sophisticated collection of programming features. Learning Clojure involves much more than just learning the mechanics of the language. To reallygetClojure you need to understand theideasunderlying this structure of framework and features. You need this book: an accessible introduction to Clojure that focuses on theideasbehind the language as well as the practical details of writing code. Clojure attracts developers on the cutting edge and is arguably the best language for learning to program in the functional style without compromise. But this comes with a steep learning curve.Getting Clojuredirectly addresses this by teaching you how to think functionally as it teaches you the language. You'll learn about Clojure's powerful data structures and high-level functions, but you'll also learn what it means for a language to be functional, and how to think in Clojure's functional way. Each chapter ofGetting Clojuretakes a feature or two or three from the language, explains the syntax and the mechanics behind that feature so that you can make it work before digging into the deeper questions: What is the thinking behind the feature? And how does it fit in with the rest of the language? InGetting Clojureyou'll learn Clojure's very simple syntax, but you'll also learn why that syntax is integral the way the language is constructed. You'll discover that most data structures in Clojure are immutable, but also why that leads to more reliable programs. And you'll see how easy it is to write Clojure functions and also how you can use those functions to build complex and capable systems. With real-world examples of how working Clojure programmers use the language,Getting Clojurewill help you see the challenges of programming through the eye of experienced Clojure developers. What You Need: You will need to some background in programming. To follow along with the examples in the book, you will need Java 6 or newer, Clojure 1.8 or 1.9, and Leiningen 2. Acknowledgments Preface Part I. Basics 1. Hello, Clojure 2. Vectors and Lists 3. Maps, Keywords, and Sets 4. Logic 5. More Capable Functions 6. Functional Things 7. Let 8. Def, Symbols, and Vars 9. Namespaces Part II. Intermediate 10. Sequences 11. Lazy Sequences 12. Destructuring 13. Records and Protocols 14. Tests 15. Spec Part III. Advanced 16. Interoperating with Java 17. Threads, Promises, and Futures 18. State 19. Read and Eval 20. Macros 21. Conclusion