I don't know how it is with you, but I think I have learned a lot by learning Haskell - and I think it has made me a better programmer. I have to say, I am in no way fluent in Haskell (anymore), and I prefer erlang as the functional PL of my choice (better libraries, more open community).
I had a series of courses about concurrent programming at the University, with a Focus on programming in Haskell. Learning Haskell has taught me 2 things, and I am immenseley gratful that it did:
* The power of abstractions
* The power of types.
The second point is absoluteley incredible in Haskell. With proper reasoning about your datatypes, the implementation almost becomes an afterthought. I never had that insight when I was using Java, C or another statically typed language.
Also: I think if this aricle would be written today, the authour wouldn't be so frustrated. Many functional concepts have influenced other languages in the last 10 years (especially C#).
Haskell may not be the best in production, but it's amazing for learning computer science. It's also pretty good for learning quite a bit of intermediate and advanced programming. The concepts and styles of thinking it teaches can be applied elsewhere to great effect.
I had a series of courses about concurrent programming at the University, with a Focus on programming in Haskell. Learning Haskell has taught me 2 things, and I am immenseley gratful that it did:
* The power of abstractions
* The power of types.
The second point is absoluteley incredible in Haskell. With proper reasoning about your datatypes, the implementation almost becomes an afterthought. I never had that insight when I was using Java, C or another statically typed language.
Also: I think if this aricle would be written today, the authour wouldn't be so frustrated. Many functional concepts have influenced other languages in the last 10 years (especially C#).