Haskell is worth learning despite the myth about it being an intimidating and difficult programming language. In reality, Haskell is not difficult. It’s just different because it’s highly specialized. Like learning to play a musical instrument, it may be confusing and overwhelming at first, but once you’ve mastered it, you would enjoy the benefits of expertise that no one else has.
Haskell is one of the best imperative languages with a type signature that’s free of side effects. It’s also a functional language with unique features to help you in functional programming. We’ll discuss more of why Haskell is worth learning in this article. You’ll also discover some benefits of learning the language.
What Is Haskell?
Haskell is a purely functional programming language based on Lambda calculus. This advanced programming language is presented in diverse types of functions and type systems, including dynamic types, static types, and type inference. It has no secondary effects on programs. In other words, each input delivers the exact result without changing the program’s status.
Is Haskell Worth Learning in 2022?
Yes, Haskell is worth learning in 2022 because functional languages like it are getting more popular among big companies like Facebook. Functional languages are typically ideal for big data and machine learning. Haskell, for example, permits parallel programming and concurrency, which are incredible for analyzing big data.
5 Reasons Haskell Is Worth Learning
Haskell code is clear, short, easy to maintain, and more reliable than object oriented programming languages. Below are some reasons learning Haskell is worth it.
Immutability and Reliability
Haskell expressions are immutable, which means values of functions cannot be changed or modified after creating them. Because of this characteristic, Haskell eliminates side effects, reduces the possibility of errors, and increases the reliability of code. All of these cut the amount of time spent on debugging and ensure reliability and higher efficiency.
Flexibility
Haskell’s expressive type system makes it easy to write a general code. Unlike imperative languages, Haskell’s data types are reusable. As you get proficient enough and learn a functional concept like Monad, you can then switch to using imperative programming in Haskell.
Infinite Datasets
Haskell is a lazy language, as it doesn’t evaluate expressions until they’re needed. That allows you to create infinite lists and define infinite data structures seamlessly. Some real-world applications where this applies are calculating Fibonacci numbers, computer windowing systems, and performing high-performance tasks like loading specific pages from a disk.
General-Purpose Language
Like Java is among the object oriented languages, Haskell is the general-purpose code in functional languages. You can develop websites and web apps, test applications, write and monitor system administration scripts, and do more. Quite commonly, people use Haskell for various mathematics research. It is built on Lambda Calculus and represents mathematical functions excellently.
Relevant for Big Data
Although Haskell is not a traditional tool for data science, its mathematics and statistics core still makes it pretty relevant. This effective language provides excellent tools for handling complex, inconsistent data, abstractions, and analysis. Experts also combine Haskell algorithms with other tools like R, Apache Spark, and Scala for machine learning projects.
How to Learn Haskell for Free
If you’re looking into how to learn Haskell for free, several online resources can help you. Those may include MOOCs, tutorial sites, open access ebooks, or coding bootcamps. Here are some free resources that teach Haskell for free.
| Resource | Provider | Type of Resource | Length |
|---|---|---|---|
| A Gentle Introduction to Haskell 98 | Haskell.org | Online Resource | Self-paced |
| Beginner Crash Course | Type Classes | Online Resource | Self-paced |
| Functional Programming in Haskell | The University of Glasgow with FutureLearn | MOOC | 6 weeks |
| Learn You a Haskell for Great Good | Learn You a Haskell | Online Tutorial | Self-paced |
| Learning Haskell | Haskell.org | Online Resource | Self-paced |
Is Learning Haskell Worth It?
Yes, Haskell is worth learning. Being a general purpose language, it’s also relevant across various fields, especially data science, artificial intelligence, parallel programming, software engineering, and web development. Learning Haskell will require some level of mathematical thinking, and it may be challenging at first, but it’s definitely worth the investment.
FAQ: Is Haskell Worth Learning?
If you’re a basic-level programmer, you should go for Python as it’s easier to learn. However, we recommend that you learn Haskell after Python. It’s always better to have a functional language in your skillset.
The vast majority of object oriented programmers don’t use Haskell in programming because it’s not in huge demand as many other mainstream languages. Hence, they often prefer to learn other programming languages since they’re more likely to use that in their jobs.
It depends. There’s no guarantee that your chances to get a job will improve because requiring Haskell skills still depends on the employer. While some employers appreciate your background knowledge of a functional language, others may be indifferent about it. Ultimately, it depends on your employer.
Haskell is more typically used for mathematics and programming research. Data scientists also find it useful for data abstraction. It’s a general programming language, so a full stack developer can also use it to build websites and software applications.
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