Reader small image

You're reading from  Learning Swift Second Edition - Second Edition

Product typeBook
Published inMar 2016
Reading LevelBeginner
Publisher
ISBN-139781785887512
Edition2nd Edition
Languages
Tools
Right arrow
Author (1)
Andrew J Wagner
Andrew J Wagner
author image
Andrew J Wagner

Contacted on 5 Aug 16 Andrew J Wagner is a software developer who concentrates on iOS development and backend web services. He has a degree in computer engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, New York. Currently, he works for a development shop based in Denver, CO named Chronos Interactive. He has experience working with and for large-scale companies and small-scale companies as well as running his own contracting and app companies. He is passionate about using computers as a creative outlet and writing software that is beautiful in implementation, functionality, and experience. When he isn't working or spending time with friends and family, he writes for his blog at http://drewag.me. I would like to thank my friends and family for being there for me as support for both my troubles and triumphs. Without their encouragement, I would not have finished this book or achieved any of the other things in my life that make me proud. An especially big thanks to my parents, Fern and Joe, for continually providing me the the tools I need to do the things I love.
Read more about Andrew J Wagner

Right arrow

Functional programming philosophy


Before we jump into writing code, let's discuss the ideas and motivations behind functional programming.

State and side effects

Functional programming makes it significantly easier to think of each component in isolation. This includes things such as types, functions, and methods. If we can wrap our minds around everything that is input into these code components and everything that should be returned from them, we could analyze the code easily to ensure that there are no bugs and it performs well. Every type is created with a certain number of parameters and each method and function in a program has a certain number of parameters and return values. Normally, we think about these as the only inputs and outputs, but the reality is that often there are more. We refer to these extra inputs and outputs as state.

In a more general sense, state is any stored information, however temporary, that can be changed. Let's consider a simple double function:

func double(input...
lock icon
The rest of the page is locked
Previous PageNext Page
You have been reading a chapter from
Learning Swift Second Edition - Second Edition
Published in: Mar 2016Publisher: ISBN-13: 9781785887512

Author (1)

author image
Andrew J Wagner

Contacted on 5 Aug 16 Andrew J Wagner is a software developer who concentrates on iOS development and backend web services. He has a degree in computer engineering from Rensselaer Polytechnic Institute, New York. Currently, he works for a development shop based in Denver, CO named Chronos Interactive. He has experience working with and for large-scale companies and small-scale companies as well as running his own contracting and app companies. He is passionate about using computers as a creative outlet and writing software that is beautiful in implementation, functionality, and experience. When he isn't working or spending time with friends and family, he writes for his blog at http://drewag.me. I would like to thank my friends and family for being there for me as support for both my troubles and triumphs. Without their encouragement, I would not have finished this book or achieved any of the other things in my life that make me proud. An especially big thanks to my parents, Fern and Joe, for continually providing me the the tools I need to do the things I love.
Read more about Andrew J Wagner