The Little MLer

The Little MLer teaches functional programming through a dialogue between two characters having conversations about ML code. The book uses pattern matching, recursion, and data structures as its core teaching tools while building up to more complex concepts. Each chapter presents ML programming principles through questions, answers, and experiments with code. The material follows a progression from basic type definitions to advanced topics like polymorphism and abstract data types. The book includes exercises and examples that demonstrate ML's type system, higher-order functions, and algebraic data types. Code samples focus on practical implementation while the dialogue format explains the reasoning behind programming decisions. This unique approach to teaching functional programming connects mathematical concepts to practical coding techniques. The book's structure mirrors the process of learning to think in functional programming patterns.

Readers appreciate the book's dialogic teaching style and sense of humor while learning about ML and type systems. The conversations between characters help break down complex concepts into digestible pieces. Liked: - Clear explanations of pattern matching and recursive types - Builds concepts incrementally through examples - Helps transition from Scheme/Lisp to ML-family languages Disliked: - Dense and abstract for beginners - Some find the dialogue format tedious - Limited code examples - Focuses on theory over practical applications Several readers noted it works better as a companion text than a standalone introduction to ML. One reader said "the quirky dialogue style either clicks with you or becomes annoying fast." Ratings: Goodreads: 3.9/5 (72 ratings) Amazon: 4.2/5 (21 ratings) Most recommend reading The Little Schemer first to understand the teaching approach and build foundational concepts before tackling this more advanced material.

The Little Schemer by Daniel P. Friedman. Written in the same unique question-and-answer format, this book teaches functional programming concepts through the Scheme language.

The Seasoned Schemer by Daniel P. Friedman. This sequel builds on The Little Schemer to explore advanced functional programming concepts and recursive techniques.

The Reasoned Schemer by Daniel P. Friedman. Using the same dialogue style, this text introduces logic programming and relational programming concepts.

Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs by Harold Abelson, Gerald Jay Sussman. This MIT classic uses Scheme to explore programming fundamentals and abstraction through recursive and functional programming techniques.

How to Design Programs by Matthias Felleisen, Robert Bruce Findler, Matthew Flatt, Shriram Krishnamurthi. This text presents systematic program design methods using functional programming principles and the Racket language.

🔹 "The Little MLer" is part of a series of programming books known as "The Little Books," which includes other titles like "The Little Schemer" and "The Little Typer," all sharing a distinctive dialogue-based teaching style. 🔹 The book uses a unique question-and-answer format to teach ML programming concepts, with two characters (the author and the reader) engaging in conversation, making complex topics more digestible. 🔹 Daniel P. Friedman, the author, is a Professor of Computer Science at Indiana University who has been teaching programming languages since 1973 and has significantly influenced the field of computer science education. 🔹 ML, the programming language featured in the book, was originally developed for writing proof assistants but became influential in programming language design, inspiring features in languages like OCaml, F#, and Scala. 🔹 The book's mascot is a doctor fish (specifically a surgeon fish), chosen because ML helps "operate" on data structures, mirroring how surgeon fish got their name from their scalpel-like spines.