Microsoft's F#: 10 Reasons Why It's a Hot Programming Language for Developers - Enterprise Applications - News & Reviews - eWeek.com | eWeek

Simple Code to Solve Complex Problems

Simple Code to Solve Complex Problems
Written By
Darryl K. Taft
Darryl K. Taft
May 25, 2012
2 minute read
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Simple Code to Solve Complex Problems

Cryptographic Support

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.


F# Understands Your Data

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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.


Rapid Prototyping

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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.


Fewer Errors

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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.


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Tools

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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.


Seamless Interoperability

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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.


Scalability

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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.


Multicore and Asynchrony

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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


Efficient Execution

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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.


Reduced Complexity, Enhanced Reuse

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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.

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