Simple Code to Solve Complex Problems

F# is expressive and concise, which allows developers to implement their algorithms more directly. This means less boilerplate; code becomes easier to read and maintain.

Thanks to F# type providers and query expressions, developers can easily access both data and its schema, turning the data source types into F# types on the fly. This general mechanism can be used to provide uniform access to data sources, Web services, or even custom schemas and protocols.

Using F# Interactive, code can be executed immediately without first compiling. This enables fluid problem exploration. Developers can use F# Interactive to iteratively refine algorithms to production quality.

Case studies and user reports consistently show that F#’s strong type system reduces software bugs. Units of Measure further increase these benefits by preventing code from accidentally combining inches and centimeters, dollars and euros, or any custom units.

Developers can use a functional language and have good tooling. F# is included in Visual Studio and includes such productivity boosters as source debugging, profiling and unit testing.

Programs can mix F# with C#, Visual Basic or any .NET language. Enterprises can use a different language without having to use different libraries and frameworks, and can leverage their existing .NET assets and domain knowledge.

Modern applications and services must scale—not only across multiple cores, but also to the cloud. Using F# parallel computations, programs can scale with the capabilities of the hardware. To implement highly scalable server-side systems, F# asynchronous programming provides a clean and reliable programming model.

The F# language design supports functional, parallel and asynchronous programming for multicore and parallel-distributed programming. Operations can be performed asynchronously, ensuring a responsive user interface. Â

As a .NET language, F# features modern, high-performance just-in-time (JIT) compilation to native code. F# code runs unchanged on both 32-bit and 64-bit systems by using the instructions available on the target architecture. The resulting code runs at the same speed as Microsoft C#, and in some cases, faster.

F# makes it easier to write functional programs, which eliminate complex time and state dependencies. This helps prevent bugs, makes unit testing more straightforward, simplifies refactoring and promotes code reuse.