PurelyFunctional.tv Newsletter 249: The unbearable lightness of static type erasure...

Issue 249 - October 30, 2017

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Please enjoy the issue.

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Clojure vs. The Static Typing World

Rich's Keynote at the Conj stirred up old debates about static vs. dynamic types. Although his talk was very straightforward, I think the history of the flame wars clouded the interpretation of his ideas. I try to clear things up in this article.

Shaving the Golden Yak Video

Jessica Kerr discusses yak shaving, when it helps, and when it's a distraction.

Updated and expanded: Guide to Reagent

A few months ago I wrote a Guide to Reagent, which talked about the different "Forms" of components as used in Re-frame, with a few other tips. As part of a video course I'm working on, I've expanded it to be more complete. Now it includes a lot more about Reagent Hiccup, React Events, and re-rendering. Check it out.

Inspiring a future Clojure editor with forgotten Lisp UX YouTube

Shaun Lebron, inventor of Parinfer, demonstrates some of the most interesting structured editors for Lisp code in its long history.

Understanding Re-frame Course

I've recorded some video lessons in the new course I'm working on. It will be a complete run-through of all of the parts of Re-frame. You can watch the first lesson free.

Introducing the Graphcool Framework

This looks cool: it's a ready-made GraphQL backend with a database, permission system, and subscriptions. It's open-source. It looks like a cool thing to build a frontend on top of, kind of like a universal backend.

What did Alan Kay mean by, 'Lisp is the greatest single programming language ever designed'?

Alan Kay has been very active on Quora, especially clarifying the meanings behind his own quotes. I've been a fan of his presentations for years, but I think he really shines in writing.

Debt: The first 5,000 years Book

I reall enjoyed this book by David Graeber. He's an anthropologist and took that perspective when researching the origins of money. He debunks the common myth that money was invented to replace barter. In fact, money was invented to represent debt which had existed for thousands of years. He follows the history of exchange and links it to vengeance, violence, bondage, and other difficult existential aspects of the human condition.

Teaching Elm to Beginners YouTube

A really detailed and practical talk by Richard Feldman. Lots of teaching techniques explained very clearly!