←back to thread

Why F#?

(batsov.com)
438 points bozhidar | 2 comments | | HN request time: 0s | source
1. sklivvz1971 ◴[] No.43551118[source]
As a person who's worked with the author (a great guy!) and with the F# community on a very large F# project: don't bother with F#, professionally speaking.

F# has many theoretical qualities, which make it fun if you like these things, but it also has some fundamental flaws, which is why it's not getting a wide professional adoption.

- the build system was a mess last I checked (slow, peculiar)

- syntax is not c-like or python-like (a big deal for a lot of people)

- you can't hire developers who know it (and certainly the few are not cheap)

- the community is a bit weird/obsessed/evangelizing (a turn off in a professional environment)

- it's clearly a second class citizen in the .net world (when stuff breaks, good luck getting support)

On the other hand

- it has discriminated unions

- units

- etc.

but do you need this stuff (not want: need)? most people don't.

replies(1): >>43556288 #
2. debugnik ◴[] No.43556288[source]
The build system is exactly the same as C#, MSBuild with its .NET SDK, and syntax and community are entirely subjective; F# has the least weirdo community I've personally seen for an FP language. Weak arguments to say the least.

I'll give you the chicken-and-egg hiring problem and it being second-class to the .NET team, though; I'd add poor IDE support by modern standards, only Rider feels right. I love F# but I've moved on for these reasons.