Rethinking programming: an introduction to functional programming with Scala
artifacts
Support material for my Scala workshop given in ENEI 2025 at FEUP/ISEP.
class: center, middle, inverse, small-images # Rethinking programming: an introduction to functional programming with Scala ### ENEI 2025 @ FEUP/ISEP #### Follow @ *enei25scala.bdmendes.com* --- class: center, middle Updated @ 12/09/2025 to conform with the new Scala 3 syntax. --- class: center, middle, inverse ### Your host <img src="/assets/about-me/bdmendes-2022.jpg" style="width: 15%; border-radius: 5em;"> ** Bruno Mendes ** Software Engineer @ Kevel Invited Lecturer @ FEUP FEUP Alumnus (graduated in 2024) Worked professionally with C++, Kotlin and Scala --- class: center, middle, inverse ### Kind reviewer <img src="/assets/artifacts/enei-25-scala/joao-azevedo-linkedin.jpeg" style="width: 15%; border-radius: 5em;"> ** João Azevedo ** Principal Engineer @ Kevel FEUP Alumnus --- ### What you'll need - Foundational knowledge of object-oriented programming - Java, C++, C# is fine - Computer science concepts - Lexical scopes, loops, variables, functions - Recursion (more specifically, search algorithms) - A computer with an IDE - VS Code or IntelliJ are recommended > If any of these concepts is unfamiliar to you, feel free to interrupt me. --- class: center, middle, inverse ### Functional programming concepts #### What's functional programming? Don't most languages have functions already? --- ### Function composition - Functional programming is a programming paradigm where programs are a *composition of pure functions* - Read pure functions as their mathematical counterpart, i.e. *objects* that map inputs to transformed values and have **no side-effects** - Functions are **first-class citizens** and may be used as arguments or return values, as any other type ```scala def transformed(numbers: List[Int], op: Int => Int): List[Int] = numbers.map(op) // How is this implemented? val numbers = List(1, 2, 3) val doubledNumbers = transformed(numbers, n => n*2) // List(2, 4, 6) ``` > Think of side-effects as something that mutates the external state of a system. For instance, reading from the console (or any kind of I/O). --- ### Referential transparency - Pure functions are **predictable** in that they don't change inputs and behave the same given the same input - Hence you can replace any subexpression by its value and get the same result - This property helps compilers reason about the program more easily and perform optimizations (e.g., *common subexpression elimination*) ```scala // This version may throw instead of returning. // We cannot safely compose this computation. def opaqueDivide(a: Int, b: Int): Int = if b == 0 then throw IllegalArgumentException("division by 0") else a / b // Here, we use the `Option` type to clearly state that this function may fail. def transparentDivide(a: Int, b: Int): Option[Int] = if b == 0 then None else Some(a / b) ``` > `Option` is a monad encapsulating the absence of a value. Monads wrap a value with context, allowing more concise operation chaining. Here e.g. `val result = transparentDivide(10, 2).flatMap(x => transparentDivide(x, 2))` would avoid pattern matching. Monads have well-defined mathematical properties. --- ### Referential transparency - The lack of referential transparency makes reasoning harder - Not being able to perform subexpression substitution leads to unexpected bugs ```scala def div(a: Int, b: Int, c: Int): Int = val denum = opaqueDivide(b, c) try opaqueDivide(a, denum) catch case _ => -1 ``` ```scala def div(a: Int, b: Int, c: Int): Int = try opaqueDivide(a, opaqueDivide(b, c)) catch case _ => -1 ``` What's the difference between these two? --- ### Evaluation strategies - Function arguments may be evaluated *eagerly* or *lazily*, depending on the desired semantics - Lazy evaluation might help you avoid unneeded computations ```scala case class User(name: String, age: Int) case class OrderPlaced(ticketId: Int) object Store: lazy val paymentsSystem: PaymentsSystem = // Here we interact with an hypothetical Java-like API // with a synchronous `register` method. val sys = PaymentsSystem() sys.register() sys def validUser(user: User): Boolean = user.age >= 18 def sellWine(user: User, onError: => String): Option[Future[OrderPlaced]] = if validUser(user) then // `paymentsSystem` is only evaluated here, and only once Some(paymentsSystem.place(user)) else // `onError` is a long string; by-name evaluation avoids allocations log(s"Wine could not be sold: $onError") None ``` --- ### Orthogonal advantages - Modularity out-of-the-box - State is encapsulated by nature and dependencies are explicit - Enables test-driven development! - Maintainability - Easier to read and to reason about - Thread-safety - No state is shared, so go ahead and launch computations in several cores! --- class: center, middle, inverse ### Here comes Scala #### The hybrid object-functional language --- ### Scala - A flexible, object-functional programming language in the JVM - Allows you to make use of the entire ecosystem in a much more functional way - Is not rigid, in that it allows to introduce mutable state *when needed* - Leverages a very powerful and expressive type-system with OOP support > We'll focus in Scala 3; however, all concepts apply to Scala 2, although possibly with different syntax. --- ### Expressions ```scala // A value is immutable. val numbers = List(1, 2, 3) // A variable is mutable. var weight = 0 // A conditional is also an expression. weight = if numbers.isEmpty then weight + 1 else weight + 2 // A function is a first-class citizen. val odds = (numbers: List[Int]) => numbers.filter(n => n % 2 != 0) // Methods are evaluated every time they are called. def calculator = println("Calculating.") // A block evaluates to the value of its last expression. odds // A value can also be lazily evaluated, but only once. lazy val numbersDescription = s"Odd numbers are ${calculator(numbers)}" ``` > The best expression type to use depends on the use case. --- ### Classes ```scala // You may import qualifications as in Java. import java.util.concurrent.atomic.* // As in Java, you can create a regular class, with some syntax sugar. class NumberProcessor(numbers: List[Int]): val requests = AtomicInteger(0) def double = requests.incrementAndGet() // How can we "mutate" requests // when it is a "val"? numbers.map(_ * 2) def requested = requests.get() // And have static symbols under its namespace. object NumberProcessor: def fromOdds(until: Int): NumberProcessor = val odds = (0 to until).filter(_ % 2 != 0).toList NumberProcessor(odds) ``` --- ### Algebraic Data Types - ADTs allow structural recursion over types - You are able to exhaustively match against a deeply nested type - Scala provides facilities for implementing *sum* and *product* types ```scala // A trait is analogous to a Java interface, but with allowed implementations. // Making it sealed means that it may only be extended in the current file. sealed trait Person // To adhere to the functional schema, your classes should be immutable. // A `case class` leverages just that meaning. case class User(name: String, cookie: Option[String]) extends Person case class Admin(id: String) extends Person // And enables pattern matching. def id(person: Person): String = person match case User(name, _) => s"user-${name}" case Admin(id) => id ``` > *Sum types* may also be implemented with the modern `enum` keyword. --- ### Type classes and contextual parameters - Type classes allow implementing ad-hoc behavior - We may require a behavior that was not provided by a library - Using a contextual parameter often makes your code more expressive ```scala case class User(age: Int) // A parameterized type let's you add behavior without subtyping, // or provide ad-hoc polymorphism. It's informally called a "type class". trait Comparator[A]: def compare(x: A, y: A): Int // It may become cumbersome to pass configurations/implementations around. // Contextual parameters help capture a value in-scope. given userComparator: Comparator[User] with def compare(x: User, y: User): Int = Integer.compare(x.age, y.age) // Notice the multiple parameter lists, needed for contextuals. // `sorted` is defined as Iterable[A] => Comparator[A] => List[A]. def sorted[A](items: Iterable[A])(using comparator: Comparator[A]): List[A] = items.toList.sortWith((x, y) => comparator.compare(x, y) < 0) // No need to pass the comparator around. println(sorted(List(User(18), User(16)))) ``` --- ### Immutable collections - In functional programming a data structure should also be immutable - This is done efficiently by intelligently reusing memory allocations ```scala def occurences[A](numbers: List[A]): Map[A, Int] = // Notice the private nested looping method. @tailrec // What is this for? def occurencesInner(list: List[A], acc: Map[A, Int]): Map[A, Int] = list match case Nil => acc case x :: xs => occurencesInner( xs, // The last parameter list of the `updatedWith` method in Map // has a single "remapping function" Option[V] => Option[V]. acc.updatedWith(x) { case Some(count) => Some(count + 1) case None => Some(1) } ) occurencesInner(numbers, Map.empty[A, Int]) ``` > Could you implement this with a `foldLeft`? What about with a `foldRight`? What's better? --- ### Further concepts For you to dig into at home... - Asynchronous computations with `Future` ```scala def fetchUsers: Future[List] = Http.get(...) ``` - Variance ```scala class List[+A] // A covariant class // A List[Duck] is also a List[Animal] class Printer[-A] // A contravariant class // A Printer[Animal] is also a Printer[Duck] class Comparator[A] // An invariant class ``` - Abstract type members and type bounds - Macros - ... --- ### A community effort - Originally created in academia, Scala has evolved into a mature language widely used in industry - *Twitter*, *LinkedIn*, *Netflix*, *Lichess*, *Kevel* use Scala to power their backends - The native ecosystem is rich - [Cats](https://typelevel.org/cats/) – Pure functional abstractions - [Apache Pekko](https://pekko.apache.org/) – Actor-based concurrency - [Apache Spark](https://spark.apache.org/) – Distributed computing - [Play Framework](https://www.playframework.com/) – Full-stack web framework - [Slick](https://scala-slick.org/) – Functional relational mapping Scala’s ecosystem enables scalable, type-safe, and functional development across diverse domains like **finance, big data, AI and cloud services**. --- class: center, middle, inverse ### Let's get to work! #### Practical exercise --- ### Setup - Grab the latest release of `scala`: https://www.scala-lang.org/ - You may use `Coursier`, the Scala installer CLI - Grab the latest release of `sbt`: https://www.scala-sbt.org/ - You may also compile manually, but a build tool helps you `run`, `test` and perform other systematic actions seamlessly - Grab the workshop source code - `git clone https://github.com/bdmendes/n-queens-horses-scala.git` - Try to run the tests - `sbt test` - Of course, they should fail with `NotImplementedError` > If you are a bit fancy, you can use *Dev Containers* instead. A kind contributor has provided a `.devcontainers` in the workshop repository for that purpose. --- ### The problem: *N-Queen-Horses* - *N-Queens* is a hard LeetCode problem in which one wants to place `n` queens in a `n*n` board, without them attacking each other, and output available possibilities - In their provided example, for `n=4` you have `[[".Q..","...Q","Q...","..Q."],["..Q.","Q...","...Q",".Q.."]]` <img src="/assets/artifacts/enei-25-scala/nqueens-leetcode.jpg" style="width: 40%;"> - Let's make it a bit more interesting... What if there are already pieces on the board, or if you want to place knights instead? - You'll search not only from an empty board, but from a set of occupied boards in my test cases - I'll sometimes ask you to place knights instead of queens - No piece can *see* each other! (Consider that a queen *sees through* obstacles.) --- ### Your job - I've left you some functions to develop in order and tests for each of them - Test-driven development will help you reach your goal ```scala type PieceEntry = (FromTopLeftPosition, Piece) case class Board(val squares: Vector[Option[Piece]]): // The board, updated with a new piece in the given position. def set(pieceEntry: PieceEntry): Board = ??? ``` ```scala // Whether `entry1` "sees" `entry2`, based on its kind and position. def attacks(entry1: PieceEntry, entry2: PieceEntry): Boolean = ??? ``` ```scala extension (board: Board) // Whether it is safe to place a piece in the board, considering // the current board configuration. def isSafe(toPlace: PieceEntry): Boolean = ??? ``` ```scala // The boards resulting of safely placing `many` pieces `put` in `board`. def search(board: Board, put: Piece, many: Int): List[Board] = ??? ``` --- class: center, middle, inverse ### Proposed solutions <img src="/assets/artifacts/enei-25-scala/specs.png" width="40%"> --- ### `Board.set` ```scala def set(pieceEntry: PieceEntry): Board = // Destructure the entry for better readability. val (position, piece) = pieceEntry // Simply return a new board with a new internal vector. // Notice that everything is immutable here; // the current `Board` isn't changed. Board( squares.updated( position.y * size + position.x, // Our vector is 1D for performance. // We calculate this manually here, // but feel free to write a helper. Some(piece) // `None` would "clear" this square. ) ) ``` --- ### `attacks` ```scala def attacks(entry1: PieceEntry, entry2: PieceEntry): Boolean = val (pos1, piece1) = entry1 val (pos2, piece2) = entry2 (piece1, piece2) match // We don't care whether the other piece sees us; // this function is "1 attacks 2". case (Piece.Queen, _) => pos1.x == pos2.x || pos1.y == pos2.y || (pos1.x - pos2.x).abs == (pos1.y - pos2.y).abs case (Piece.Knight, _) => (pos1.x - pos2.x).abs == 1 && (pos1.y - pos2.y).abs == 2 || (pos1.x - pos2.x).abs == 2 && (pos1.y - pos2.y).abs == 1 ``` Notice that this function does not depend on the board. Why? In which circumstances would we require visualizing the board? > Shameless plug: in real world chess, this is a bit more complicated... See what I do in my chess engine [Camel](https://github.com/bdmendes/camel/), and/or search for `chess engine sliding piece move generation`. --- ### `Board.isSafe` ```scala def isSafe(toPlace: PieceEntry): Boolean = // Notice how easy it is now to code a complex operation, via composition. board.pieces.forall { entry => // We cannot "see" anyone and nobody can "see" us. !attacks(entry, toPlace) && !attacks(toPlace, entry) } ``` What's the advantage of using the `forall` method versus e.g. - The `foreach` method with an auxiliary variable? - A `.map(...).filter(_ == false).isEmpty` kind-of composition? --- ### `search` ```scala def search(board: Board, put: Piece, many: Int): List[Board] = { val possiblePositions = (0 until board.size) // Cache squares. .flatMap { y => (0 until board.size).map(x => FromTopLeftPosition(x, y)) } def go(board: Board, many: Int): Seq[Board] = // Our recursion helper. if many == 0 then Seq(board) // The recursion base case. else // The children of a board is the board with // each available safe position set. val emptyPositions = possiblePositions.filter { position => board.at(position).isEmpty && board.isSafe((position, put)) } emptyPositions.flatMap { position => val newBoard = board.set((position, put)) go(newBoard, many - 1) } // Convert to set here to remove permutations. // Could we "cut" the search and avoid doing this? go(board, many).toSet.toList ``` Can you draw the search tree? What does each node represent? --- class: center, middle, inverse, small-images ### Thank you for your attention! #### Have a nice ENEI!