In software circles, a design pattern is a methodology and documented approach to a problem and its solution which is bound to be found repeatedly in several projects as a tumbling block. Software engineers customize these patterns according to their problem and form a solution for their respective applications. Patterns follow a formal structure to explain a problem and then go over a proposed answer as well as key points which are related to either the problem or the solution. A good pattern is one which is well known in the industry and used by the IT masses. For functional programming, there are several popular design patterns. Let’s go over some of these.

Monad

Monad is a design pattern which takes several functions and integrates them as a single function. It can be seen as a type of combinatory and is a core component of functional programming. In monad, a value is wrapped in a box which is then unwrapped and a function is passed to use the wrapped value.

To go into more technicalities, a monad can be classified into running on three basic principles.

·         A parameterized type M<T>

According to this rule, T can possess any type like String, Integer, hence it is optional.

·         A unit function T -> M<T>

According to this rule, there can be a function taking a type and its processing may return “Optional”. For instance, Optional.of(String) returns Optional<String>.

·         A bind operation: M<T> bind T -> M <U> = M<U>

According to this rule which is also known as showed operator due to the symbol >>==. For the monad, the bind operator is called. For instance, Optional<Integer>. Now this takes a lambda or function as an argument for instance like (Integer -> Optional<String> and returns and processes a Monad which has a different type.

Persistent Data Structures

In computer science, there is a concept known as a persistent data structure. Persistent data structure at their essence work like normal data structure but they preserve their older versions after modification. This means that these data structures are inherently immutable because apparently, the operations performed in such structures do not modify the structure in place. Persistent data structures are divided into three types:

• When all the versions of a data structure can be accessed and only the latest version can be changed, then it is a partially persistent data structure.
• When all the versions of a data structure can be accessed as well as changed, then it is a fully persistent data structure.
• Sometimes due to a merge operation, a new version can be generated from two prior versions; such type of data structure is known as confluently persistent.

For data structure which does not show any persistence, the term “ephemeral” is used.

As you may have figured out by now, since persistent data structures enforce immutability, they are used heavily in functional programming. You can find persistent data structure implementations in all major functional programming language. For instance, in JavaScript Immutable.js is a library which is used for implementing persistent data structures. For example,

import { MapD } from ‘immutable’;

let employee = Map({

employeeName: ‘Brad’,

age: 27

});

employee.employeeName; // -> undefined

employee.get(’employeeName’); // -> ‘Brad’

Functors

In programming, containers are used to store data without assigning any method or properties to them. We just put a value inside a container which is then passed with the help of functional programming. A container only has to safely store the value and provide it to the developer in need. However, the values inside them cannot be modified. In functional programming, these containers provide a good advantage because they help with forming the foundation of functional construct and assist with asynchronous actions and pure functional error handling.

So why are we talking about containers? Because functors are a unique type of container. Functors are those containers which are coded with “map” function.

Among the simplest type of containers, we have arrays. Let’s see the following line in JavaScript.

const a1 = [10, 20,30, 40, 50];

Now to see a value of it, we can write.

Const x=y[1];

In functional, the array cannot be changed like.

a1.push(90)

However, new arrays can be created from an existing array. An array is theoretically a function. Technically, whenever a unary function is mapped with a container, then it is a functor. Here ‘mapped’ means that the container is used with a special function which is then applied to a unary function. For arrays, the map function is the special function. A map function processes the contents of an array and performs a special function for all the elements of the element step-by-step after which it responds with another array.

Zipper

A zipper is a design pattern which is used for the representation of an aggregate data structure. Such a pattern is good for codes where arbitrarily traversal is common and the contents can be modified, therefore it is usually used in purely functional programming environments. The concept of Zipper dates back to 1997 where Gérard Huet introduced a “gap buffer” strategy.

Zipper is a general concept and can be customized according to data structures like trees and lists. It is especially convenient for data structures which used recursion. When used with zipper, these data structure are known as “a list with zipper” or “a tree with zipper” for making it apparent that their implementation makes use of zipper pattern.

In simple terms, zipper with data structure has a hole. They are used for the manipulation and traversal in data structures where the hole indicates the present focus for the traversal. Zipper facilitates developers to easily move within the data structure.

So far we have talked a lot about functional programming. We discussed the basics and even experimented with some coding of functional interfaces. Now is the right time to touch one of the most popular features of Java for functional paradigm, known as lambda expressions or simply lambdas.

What Is a Lambda Expression?

A lambda expression provides functionality for one or more functional interface’s instances with “concrete implementations”. Lambdas do not require the use of a class for their use. Importantly, these expressions can be viewed and worked by coding them as objects. This means that, like objects, it is possible to pass or run a lambda expression. The basic style for writing a lambda expression requires the use of an “arrow”. See below:

parameter à the expression body

On the left side, we have a “parameter”. We can write single or multiple parameters for our program. Likewise, it is not mandatory to specify the parameter type because compilers already ascertain the parameter type. If you are using a single parameter, then you may or may not add a round bracket.

However, if you intend to add multiple parameters, then make sure to use round brackets (). Sometimes, there is no need of parameters in a lambda expression. For such cases, it is possible to signify them by simple adding an unfilled round bracket. To avoid error, use round brackets for parameter whether you are using a 0, 1, or more parameters.

On the right side of the lambda expression, we can have an expression. This expression is entailed in curly brackets. Like parameters, you do not require brackets for a single expression while multiple expressions require one. However, unlike parameter, the return type of a function can be signified by the body expression.

Without Lambdas

To understand lambdas, check this simple example.

package fp;

public class withoutLambdas {

public static void main(String[] args) {

withoutLambdas wl = new withoutLambdas(); // generating instance for our object

String lText2 = “Working without lambda expressions”; // here we assign a string for the object’s method as a parameter

wl.printing(lText2);

}

public void printing(String lText) { // initializing a string

System.out.println(lText);              // creating a method to print the String

}

}

The output of the program is “Working without lambda expressions”. Now if you are familiar with OOP, then you can understand how the caller was unaware of the method’s implementation i.e. it was hidden from it. What is happening here is that the caller gets a variable which is then used by the “printing” method. This means we are dealing with a side effect here—a concept we explained in our previous posts.

Now let’s see another program in which we go one step ahead, from a variable to a behavior.

package fp;

public class withoutLambdas2 {

interface printingInfo {

void letsPrint(String someText);  //a functional interface

}

public void printingInfo2(String lText, printingInfo pi) {

pi.letsPrint(lText);

}

public static void main(String[] args) {

withoutLambdas2 wl2 = new withoutLambdas2(); // initializing instance

String lText = “So this is what a lambda expression is”; // Setting a value for the variable

printingInfo pi = new printingInfo() {

@Override // annotation for overriding and introducing new behavior for our interface method

public void letsPrint(String someText) {

System.out.println(someText);

}

};

wl2.printingInfo2 (lText, pi);

}

}

In this example the actual work to print the text was completed by the interface. We basically formulated and designed the code for our interface’s implementation. Now let’s use Lambdas to see how they provide an advantage.

package fp;

public class firstLambda {

interface printingInfo {

void letsPrint(String someText);    //a functional interface

}

public void printingInfo2(String lText, printingInfo pi) {

pi.letsPrint(lText);

}

public static void main(String[] args) {

firstLambda fl = new firstLambda();

String lText = “This is what Lambda expressions are”;

printingInfo pi = (String letsPrint)->{System.out.println(letsPrint);};

fl.printingInfo2(lText, pi);

}

See how we improved the code by integrating a line of lambda expression. As a result, we are able to remove the side effect too. What the expression did was use the parameter and processed it to generate a response. The expression after the arrow is what we call as a “concrete implementation”.

Now that you have learned about the paradigm shift to functional programming, let’s go into the depths of the fundamentals concepts that power functional programming. The comprehension of these basic concepts is important to create high-quality functional programming applications. You may be tempted to directly begin coding but these concepts can help you become a better coder.

1- Pure Functions

In functional programming, everything is seen as a function. Each function has to be “pure”. Pure here refers to two basic capabilities:

No Side Effects

A function can never be pure if it carries even a single side effect. A side effect is a property when a function’s states are modified by other functions. By states, we mean the data like variables or data structures. Pure functions do not carry any side effects; hence their memory or I/O operations can’t be affected. Now, you might wonder that why exactly does their presence considered bad. Well, because they make functions “unpredictable” where a function has to rely on its system’s state.

On the contrary, if a function’s state cannot be changed, then the same output is generated for the given input. A side effect of a function can also mean to write any operation which has been applied to the disk or turning on/off a control of your front-end UI’s function.

Same Result with Multiple Calls

Whenever a function is called without any modifications in its arguments, the same results are generated. Consider an example where you have designed a simple function “multiply (4, 5). Now, this function is expected to generate the same results .i.e. for each invocation. However, if you were programming in other paradigms then random functions or global variables may not allow your result to remain the same.

Pure functions also offer “memoisation”. Memeoisation refers to a technique in which pure functions’ output (always same result) is saved in the cache memory. Now, whenever such functions are invoked, caching helps to enhance the performance and speed of the application.

2- Higher Order Function

The concept of a function which is higher order is known in mathematics as well as computer science. Generally, they possess two fundamental characteristics.

Return Type

The return type of a higher-order function has to be a function. For example, review the following code in Java.

package fp;

public class higherOrderfunction {

public static void main(String args[]) {

System.out.println(A(4));

}

static int marks() {

int a=5;

return a;

}

static int A(int total) {

total =4;

return total+marks();

}

}

To simplify things, we have constructed a simple function marks. This function holds an integer value “a” which is returned. Now, we have a function A. A takes an argument for an integer total and assigns it a value. Now, comes the actual part. See how in return, we have used marks method as a return type. Since we have processed our function by returning another function; hence this function is a higher-order function.

Arguments

Another characteristic of a higher-order function can be its use of functions as input parameters. For instance, see this see pseudo-code:

Public areaRect (lb) // Here areaRect represents a function that takes arguments from another function lb to calculate length  and breadth

{

int area;

area =l*b;

return lb; //

}

This function is a higher-order function because it processes itself using another function as a parameter.

3- First Class Functions

After higher-order functions, we have first-class functions. These are not too dissimilar to higher-order functions. It is important to note that a first-class function always adheres to the terms and conditions of a higher-order function. So what this means is that a first-class function has to return another function as well as contain a parameter in the form of function. Hence, by default, all first-class functions are higher-order functions. So what exactly is the difference between them? Well, context matters!

By referring a language to have support for first-class functions, we generally mean that uses its functions as values that can be easily passed around.

On the other hand, the term higher-order is more associated with the mathematics outlook when pure problem-solving requires a more theoretical and general perspective of the problem.

4- Evaluation

Some languages support strict evaluation while others offer non-strict evaluation support. This evaluation is targeted at the language’s processing of an expression while considering the function parameters or arguments. To familiarize yourself better with the concept, check this simple example:

Print length([4-3,4+6,1/0,7*7,3-8])

When a programming language uses non-strict evaluation to process this expression, then it simply returns back a value of 5 .i.e. the total number of elements. Such evaluation does not concern itself with the depth of values.

On the other hand, the same expression returns an error with strict evaluation because it found the third element “1/0” to be incorrect. Hence, this means that strict evaluation is more stringent and processes an expression more deeply.

In a few scenarios, non-strict evaluation has to enforce processing of strict evaluation when a function needs to be evaluated on a “stricter” basis due to an invocation.

5- Referential Transparency

In functional programming, the usual assignment of values is not offered. Variables are immutable; a value defined once is the final one which is not possible to be changed in future. It is the property which makes them without any side-effects. To understand further, consider the following example, where the value of x is changed after each evaluation.

x=x*15

In the start of the program, x was assigned a value of 1. The first evaluation made it 15.

Now, in the second evaluation, the value of x changes to 225.

Now, this function is not referentially transparent because the value of x is continuously changing.

So now, if we go by the functional concepts, then our example can be altered into this pseudocode:

int sum(int x)

{

x=x+2;

}

This type of function ensures that the value of x remains constant and it cannot be altered implicitly.