There and Back Again: A Functional Programmer's Tale

6:00 to 6:30 pm "n00b Presentation" - TBD

Main Session 6:45 pm -8:30 pm

Who: Chris is a F# MVP and software consultant in Ann Arbor, MI. A proponent of F# since its pre-release days, he has given numerous F# talks and trainings throughout the US and Europe. He has also written articles on F# for MSDN Magazine and his F#-centric blog. His other technical interests and experiences include coffeescript, backbone.js, Rails, Django, C#, Android, and of course, functional programming. When not coding, he enjoys rock climbing, BBQ food, and obnoxiously large TVs.

What: Come join me as we discuss the hero's journey and functional programming. We'll talk about every stage of the hero's quest- from the mystical power of the lambda, to the temptations of the rewrite, to enlightenment as the master of two worlds. Along the way, I'll share my experiences about the good, the bad, and the ugly of functional programming. If you're new to the religion of the lambda, I'll give you an objective assessment of the pitfalls you're likely to encounter on your journey. If you're a seasoned functional programmer, you'll learn some techniques for mentoring the next generation of functional programmers in your role as the wise sage. This talk is not an introduction to functional programming concepts, or a code-heavy deep dive into language features. Instead, my goal is to distill my experiences over the years into a few concrete lessons that will help you look at your programming style as a whole and take you beyond the nuts and bolts of lambdas, combinators, and monads.

Pizza and Raffled off prizes for the attendees

Where: B-Line Medical is located 2 blocks south of the Dupont Circle metro stop (red line). Exit on dupont south and the building is at the corner of 19th and N street NW. Driving is not encouraged as parking will be extremely difficult. The building needs a key card to get in after 6pm but Riccardo and Khiem will be hanging around outside to let people in. B-Line medical is on the first floor of the building right around the corner at the end of the hallway.

Can't make it? We'll be recording our meetup and posting it to our youtube