Most programmers these days write in object-oriented programming
languages, such as Java or Python. This category also includes much
Perl 5, C++, and Objective-C code. It even includes much Javascript,
which work on the Document Object Model. Such code is organized as a
collection of (classes of) objects. You get a new object by demanding
a new, blank element of some class, or by demanding that some other
object be cloned. So why do I write functional programs, not
object-oriented programs? Because these are easy and hard to extend
in different ways.
With object-oriented programs, it’s easy to extend them by adding a
new class of object. And it’s easy to add a function to one
class… though you then have to consider all its children. It’s hard
to add a new feature in a broad way, like serialization or access
control: you have to change each of your class definitions, likely
every file in your program. So nouns are easy, but new verbs are hard.
With functional programs, it’s hard to add a new sort of noun to the
world, but easy to add a new sort of verb. Since I tend to program in
Unix-like environments, this is nice: I know generally what sorts of
noun I’ll be dealing with. I write programs to add new verbs to my
vocabulary.
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