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http://www.rubyconf.org.au Programming involves dealing with an overwhelming amount of complexity. The human brain can only deal with so much information to process before anxiety kicks in and your ability to proceed suffers. Functional programming provides tools to manage the combinatorial explosion of state and logic. Here we'll cover some practical uses of functional programming techniques in Ruby that can be directly applied to your everyday work.
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### Summary of "Functional Programming For The Anxious Developer" In his talk at RubyConf AU 2017, Julian Doherty addresses the complexities and anxieties that developers face in programming, particularly through the lens of functional programming techniques in Ruby. He opens with a relatable story about a young developer whose initial excitement fades into anxiety as project complexities grow, showcasing the mental toll that programming can take. #### Key Points Discussed: - **The Evolution of a Developer:** Doherty narrates the journey of a developer who transitions from excitement to facing overwhelming anxiety due to increasing project demands. He illustrates how the fun of coding can turn into a stressful experience filled with bugs, race conditions, and long hours. - **Impact of Anxiety on Work:** The constant pressure leads to anxiety, impacting the developer’s cognitive abilities, particularly working memory—an essential component for managing complex tasks. - **Shift to Functional Programming:** To combat anxiety, Doherty suggests employing functional programming as it reduces cognitive load through principles such as: - **Pure Functions:** Functions that consistently produce the same output for the same input, aiding clarity and reasoning in code. - **Immutability:** The practice of not altering objects once created, allowing developers to avoid unexpected changes in state. - **Statelessness:** Moving data instead of changing it, leading to simpler code structures. - **Tools in Ruby:** He discusses usable Ruby libraries that support functional programming concepts, such as Algebric and Hamster, which offer immutable collections and promote cleaner coding practices. - **Higher-Order Functions:** Methods like `map` and `inject` are highlighted as essential functional programming tools that facilitate transformations and handling collections of data without mutating them. - **Monoids in Functional Programming:** Doherty explains the utility of monoids in managing state and performing operations across data structures in a consistent, predictable manner, further contributing to reduced complexity. #### Conclusions and Takeaways: - Developers are encouraged to shift their mindset from anxiety to clarity by embracing functional programming principles. - Implementing practices like pure functions, immutability, and stateless design can greatly streamline coding processes, thus lowering stress and enhancing productivity. - Finally, he emphasizes the importance of simplifying thought processes to manage the overwhelming complexity inherent in programming, advocating for a balanced, less anxiety-driven approach to development. Doherty's talk encourages developers to adopt functional programming techniques as a way to navigate the challenges of complex coding environments while fostering mental well-being.
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