Level up with functional programming

Read the friendly and learning-first guide to functional programming.

The author

Meet Eric Normand

Photo of Eric Normand, author of Grokking Simplicity

Eric Normand is an experienced functional programmer, trainer, speaker, and writer on all things FP. He hails from New Orleans. He started programming in Lisp in 2000. He creates Clojure training material at PurelyFunctional.tv. He also consults with companies to use functional programming to better serve business objectives. You can find him speaking internationally at programming conferences. His writing, speaking, training, and consulting can be found at LispCast.com.

Fantastic book. I think it’s the best book on functional programming for programmers of any level. It uses the concepts of Actions, Data, and Calculations to reframe programming. I think it’s brilliant. I loved reading early drafts of your book — I would have called it a book on how to write valuable features that is liberated from the tar pits of astonishing amounts of complexity.

Gene Kim, author of The Unicorn Project profile picture
Gene Kim, author of The Unicorn Project

Thanks! I really enjoyed your book. Great job!

Yehuda Katz, founder of EmberJS profile picture
Yehuda Katz, founder of EmberJS

Can recommend this book without reservation. And it's not even finished yet.

Neil Gall profile picture
Neil Gall

Really enjoying Grokking Simplicity by @ericnormand . The way the book is constantly changing and highlighting sections of code make me feel it would make a great @scrimba course.

Nate Clark profile picture
Nate Clark

Just finished #GrokkingSimplicity. It's not a book, it's a journal that every software engineer should give a shot. Every single page will change your mind, from computer thinking to how to show people what to do next. Thank you @ericnormand.

Alex profile picture
Alex

Hats off to @ericnormand and his book Grokking Simplicity. It's been a journey to discover how ideas I thought I knew well are dissected and explained beautifully step by step. This book made me a better code writer. Thanks!

Alan Andrade profile picture
Alan Andrade

I just bought a very good book on #Functional #Programming called "Grokking Simplicity" written by @ericnormand. It's really an awesome book. I am going to finish it during my Christmas holidays. ✌️

FeStack profile picture
FeStack

Just finished chapter 7 of Grokking Simplicity by @ericnormand and I'm certain now that buying this book would be one of my best choices of 2021! Highly recommended even if you are not doing FP.

Khanh Le profile picture
Khanh Le

Grokking Simplicity by @ericnormand is one of the most interesting books I've read about shaping your mind to think in a functional way. Every JavaScripter should read this book. Thank you @ericnormand , Eric! ♥️♥️♥️

Eduardo Vedes profile picture
Eduardo Vedes

Eric, I've read the six first chapters and it's amazing how you approached design principles. It teach me something I was looking for a long time. Let it grow, and write more about.

Pietro Verdile profile picture
Pietro Verdile

For me it is great book so far. You're explaining stuff usually not available in programming books.

Grzegorz Laszczyk profile picture
Grzegorz Laszczyk

Excellent book! Highly recommended to anyone who wants to improve their programming skills.

Rares Portan profile picture
Rares Portan

I recently came across your book and I think it is simply great. For quite some time I have been struggling with introducing some clean code principles to my teammates. It was not easy to find some concrete examples on the web. Your book just hits the sweet spots on multiple levels and it pretty much contains all I want my teammates to know. Also, kudos to the heads-first-like writing style. Love it so far. Keep up the great work!

Tomislav Hoborka profile picture
Tomislav Hoborka

I’ve found Grokking Simplicity to be a great, pragmatic introduction to solving real-world problems with “functional thinking”. All the code is JavaScript and it tries to walk you through how you might solve common, everyday business problems with a more functional approach. All without getting bogged down with terms like “monad” or “functor”. This book (along with Domain Driven Design made Functional, mentioned elsewhere) are both great resources for getting introduced to “useful” functional programming.

Adam Kreczko-Lenner profile picture
Adam Kreczko-Lenner

The teaching, guidance and wisdom from Grokking Simplicity by @ericnormand are the main reason I am about to reason and refactor my old messy code into this beauty. Thank you again, for the great book!

Kuan profile picture
Kuan

“Grokking Simplicity” by @ericnormand a functional programming #book that is practical for software engineering and focused on software design? WHAT? Really? I need to read this now! 😬

Yeradis P. Barbosa Marrero profile picture
Yeradis P. Barbosa Marrero

#GrokkingSimplicity is excellent beyond words. I finally took the time to go through it, making notes, absorbing as much as I could. There’s nothing I’ve read recently quite so helpful as the chapters from 13 onward. (Still have 17, 18, and 19 to go.) This is really good.

Ron Lusk profile picture
Ron Lusk

If you're looking for a book to read that's widely applicable to whatever you're doing in technology then this book should jump up to the top of your list!

Tim Visher profile picture
Tim Visher

CANT WAIT to dig into the final published version of Grokking Simplicity. Been reading the MEAP versions and for sure this has made me rethink the way I approach problem solving and system design. Kudos and props to @ericnormand. Read this. You won't regret it!

John Kreiter profile picture
John Kreiter

This book has changed how I write code in profound ways. Highly recommend it.

Thomas Eckert profile picture
Thomas Eckert

Eric Normand is so good at what he does that I've had multiple dreams where he teaches me Clojure and functional programming. I got his book, Grokking Simplicity, on my desk right now. He's so good.

APandaExplosion profile picture
APandaExplosion

Got my hands on "Grokking Simplicity" by @ericnormand and this book is such a revelation. You learn functional programming using practical scenarios and you relate it with what you do in your day to day work. Strongly recommended for anyone who needs great text on FP.

Naiyer Asif profile picture
Naiyer Asif

If you're interested in learning more about functional programming and how to apply it in day-to-day software development, highly recommend checking out @ericnormand's book Grokking Simplicity!

Anjana Vakil profile picture
Anjana Vakil

I’d recommend still getting the book. It’s one of the most well structured instructional books I’ve ever seen. I wouldn’t be surprised if this because required reading for students.

John Funk profile picture
John Funk

If functional programming gives you a headache or you need to sell functional concepts to your team, Grokking Simplicity by ⁦ @ericnormand ⁩ is for you.

Michael Nisi profile picture
Michael Nisi

Reading Grokking Simplicity by @ericnormand, and I really enjoy the clean introduction to the concept of recursion. It was one of the things that took a bit to wrap my head around back when I started coding.

Tomasz Tarczyński profile picture
Tomasz Tarczyński

Enjoying Grokking Simplicity by @ericnormand! Great book for those unfamiliar with functional programming.

Logan Lowder profile picture
Logan Lowder

One of the better additions to the thinking programmer's bookshelf.

Simon Belak profile picture
Simon Belak

Ready to dive in?Get the book today!