3 posts tagged with "haskell"

Haskell is a unique and beautiful language that is worth learning, if for nothing else, then just for the concepts it introduces and their potential to expand your view on programming.

I have been programming in Haskell on and off since 2011 and professionally for the past 2 years, building a compiler. While in that time Haskell has become much more beginner-friendly, I keep seeing beginners who are overwhelmed by numerous popular options for build tools, installers, introductory educational resources, and similar. Haskell’s homepage getting a call from the previous decade to give them their UX back :D also doesn’t help!

That is why I decided to write this opinionated and practical post that will tell you exactly how to get started with Haskell in 2022 in the most standard / common way. Instead of worrying about decisions that you are not equipped to make at the moment (e.g. “what is the best build tool?”), you can focus on enjoying learning Haskell :)!

I have been programming professionally for over a decade, using a variety of languages day-to-day including Ada, C, Java, Ruby, Elixir, and JavaScript. I’ve also tried some obscure ones, albeit less frequently and for different purposes: MIPS assembly language and OCaml for academic work (I’m a BS, MS, and PhD dropout in CS), and Zig for some side projects. In short, I like learning new languages (at least at a surface level) and have been exposed to different programming paradigms, including functional.

Yet, I have never done Haskell. I’ve wanted to learn it since my college days, but never got the time. In late 2021, though, my curiosity took over. I wanted to see for myself if the mystique and the Kool-Aid hype (or hate) around it are justified. :P So, I decided I’d start learning it on the side and also look for a company that uses it as my next gig. That’s how my Haskell journey started, and how I got into Wasp a few months later.

Find out what Haskell's forall is all about.