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Clojure is ⚡️Awesome⚡️

Avi Flax
August 22, 2017

Clojure is ⚡️Awesome⚡️

Designed to introduce experienced programmers to Clojure and hopefully pique their interest.

Avi Flax

August 22, 2017
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  1. Clojure
    is
    ⚡Awesome⚡!
    by Avi Flax • [email protected]flax.com • August 2017

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  2. * What: An Open Source programming system
    * Who: Initial design and implementation by Rich
    Hickey, BDFL.
    * When: First preview release: 2007; 1.0 was in
    2009.
    Some W’s
    What
    Who
    When
    by Avi Flax • [email protected]flax.com • August 2017

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  3. * Why does it exist?
    * Hickey did a lot of work with C# and Java
    and was dissatisfied
    * He wanted a LISP that:
    * fast, pragmatic
    * embraces immutability, concurrency, and
    polymorphism
    * not constrained by backwards compatibility
    * empowered and accelerated by building on
    an established platform
    Why
    by Avi Flax • [email protected]flax.com • August 2017

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  4. Why is it
    ⚡Awesome⚡?
    by Avi Flax • [email protected]flax.com • August 2017

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  5. * This is a lot of stuff, and itʼs not even everything.
    * But I think itʼs actually more than the sum of its
    parts.
    * I think Clojure is…
    In a !
    ⚡ ⚡
    by Avi Flax • [email protected]flax.com • August 2017

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  6. * Each of these aspects of Clojure is excellent, but itʼs how they fit
    together to enable and empower designing and building great software
    over time that is really ⚡Awesome⚡!
    * We'll revisit each of these strengths later; next I'd like to show you some
    examples.
    A cohesive toolkit for
    thinking & building
    over time
    by Avi Flax • [email protected]flax.com • August 2017

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  7. Examples!
    by Avi Flax • [email protected]flax.com • August 2017

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  8. API and database are written in Clojure
    by Avi Flax • [email protected]flax.com • August 2017

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  9. * API and UI are written in Clojure and ClojureScript
    * Other companies using Clojure include Walmart, Chartbeat,
    Consumer Reports, Puppet, Beanstalk, The Climate
    Corporation, Thoughtworks, Cerner, Atlassian, and many more
    by Avi Flax • [email protected]flax.com • August 2017

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  10. * Donʼt want to dwell on this; just want you to be
    able to read the examples.
    * The syntax definitely looks strange at first, but:
    * People generally get used to the syntax very
    quickly and just stop noticing it.

    Syntax
    by Avi Flax • [email protected]flax.com • August 2017

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  11. * Referential transparency
    * Everything is whitespace-delimited
    * Commas are whitespace
    * Prefix notation means there are
    very few reserved characters
    Calls
    (callee arg arg arg)
    (callee (callee arg)
    arg
    arg)
    (capitalize "park assist")
    (- 10 2 3)
    by Avi Flax • [email protected]flax.com • August 2017

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  12. Vectors
    Indexed, random-access sequences:
    ["this" "is" "a" "vector"]
    by Avi Flax • [email protected]flax.com • August 2017

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  13. Functions
    ;; Syntax:
    (fn [arg-1 arg-2] body)
    ;; Example:
    (fn [a b] (+ a b))
    by Avi Flax • [email protected]flax.com • August 2017

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  14. Vars
    ;; Syntax:
    (def name value)
    ;; Example:
    (def default-max-connections 10)
    by Avi Flax • [email protected]flax.com • August 2017

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  15. Functions in Vars
    ;; Syntax:
    (def function-name (fn [arg-1 arg-2] body))
    ;; Example:
    (def add (fn [a b] (+ a b)))
    ;; Sugar:
    (defn add [a b] (+ a b))
    by Avi Flax • [email protected]flax.com • August 2017

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  16. Everything is an Expression
    (defn hello [first-name]
    (str "Hello "
    first-name
    (if (= first-name "Avi")
    "!"
    ".")))
    by Avi Flax • [email protected]flax.com • August 2017

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  17. * Even try/catch is an expression!
    Everything is an Expression
    (defn good-bye [first-name]
    (str "Bye "
    (try (capitalize first-name)
    (catch Exception err ""))))
    by Avi Flax • [email protected]flax.com • August 2017

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  18. * IMHO Clojureʼs syntax is simpler, more regular, more
    expressive, and more powerful than most languages —
    definitely including Ruby!
    * Donʼt even get me started on Rubyʼs blocks :facepalm:
    Rosetta Slide
    Case Ruby Clojure
    Call a function sum(1, 2, 3) (+ 1 2 3)
    Call a method names.join(',') (join names ",")
    Define function def uc(s); s.upcase; end (defn uc [s] (upper-case s))
    Anon. function ->(s) { s.upcase } (fn [s] (upper-case s))
    Control structures if bar; foo; end (if bar foo)
    Passing functions ¯\_(ϑ)_/¯ (map uc names)
    Composing functions ¯\_(ϑ)_/¯ (comp uc reverse)
    by Avi Flax • [email protected]flax.com • August 2017

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  19. by Avi Flax • [email protected]flax.com • August 2017

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  20. Short
    Dives
    by Avi Flax • [email protected]flax.com • August 2017

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  21. Symbolics 3640 lisp machine running the Genera operating system in the Retro-
    Computing Society of RI display at the Vintage Computer Festival East 1.0. Image via
    WikiMedia Commons.
    It’s a LISP
    • Functional
    • Declarative
    • Dynamic
    • Interactive Development →
    Developer Productivity
    • Code as Data → Macros
    • Everything is an expression
    • Lazy
    by Avi Flax • [email protected]flax.com • August 2017

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  22. * JavaScript: ClojureScript; server-side (Node) or client-
    side (browsers)
    * Mobile: primarily via ClojureScript + React Native
    * Serverless: via either ClojureScript+Node or JVM
    * Embedded: Ferret is a Clojure transpiler that transpiles
    Clojure to self contained portable ISO C++11. Itʼs
    verified to run on Arduino, Teensy, SparkFun, NodeMcu.
    * Erlang: Clojang is a Clojure library that enables Clojure
    programs to communicate with Erlang processes
    It’s Got Reach
    • JVM
    • CLR
    • JavaScript
    • Mobile
    • Serverless
    • Embedded
    • Erlang
    by Avi Flax • [email protected]flax.com • August 2017

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  23. It’s Mature
    • 10 years
    • host platforms: 20+ years
    • 10 major releases
    • Vibrant community
    • Rich ecosystem
    • Interoperability
    • Strong stewardship
    by Avi Flax • [email protected]flax.com • August 2017

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  24. Immutability
    • Baked in at the deepest level
    • Encourages rigorous thinking about where/when/why
    mutable state
    • Enables (powerful + simple + safe) concurrency
    • Escape hatches for performance
    • Deeper, longer-term benefits
    by Avi Flax • [email protected]flax.com • August 2017

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  25. * “Clojureʼs reference model clearly separates
    identities from values.” (Programming Clojure, 3rd Ed.)
    * 4 different kinds of references for different cases
    Concurrency
    • Immutability
    • References
    • Software Transactional Memory
    • Atoms
    • Agents
    • Vars
    • CSP: lightweight routines and channels
    by Avi Flax • [email protected]flax.com • August 2017

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  26. * Performance: you can add type hints,
    transients, etc
    * Correctness: specifications
    Scalability
    • Scripts
    • Prototypes
    • Products
    • Platforms
    • Performance
    • Correctness
    by Avi Flax • [email protected]flax.com • August 2017

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  27. Maintainability
    • Simplicity
    • Data Orientation
    • Coherence
    • Polymorphism
    • Protocols
    • Multimethods
    • Records
    • Specifications
    • Property Testing
    by Avi Flax • [email protected]flax.com • August 2017

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  28. TBD
    Why is it
    ⛈Not⛈
    ⚡Awesome⚡?
    by Avi Flax • [email protected]flax.com • August 2017

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  29. * — I think.
    Now what?
    • Videos!
    • Simple Made Easy by Rich Hickey
    • Clojure in 10 Big Ideas by Stuart Halloway
    • Clojure for Rubyists — Accessing the GitHub API by Jeff
    Terrell*
    by Avi Flax • [email protected]flax.com • August 2017

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  30. Clojure is
    ⚡Awesome⚡!
    You should try it!
    tryclj.com
    by Avi Flax • [email protected]flax.com • August 2017

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