Getting Started

Okay, so I've decided to learn F#. Why did I choose this language?

• Functional. 
• I use JavaScript a lot and I've come to really enjoy the power of functional programming. I found myself using lambdas a lot in some C# I was writing for work and thought to myself "I should really check out that functional language Microsoft sponsored."
• Different.
• F# has a distinctly different syntax from the languages I use often (Python, Java, C#, JavaScript). I thought it would broaden my mind to wrap my head around this syntax.

How am I going to attack this process? It probably makes sense to have a strategy. Here's what I'm thinking:

1. Read something to learn the syntax and concepts.
2. Try some examples.
3. Create a project to exercise the new skills.
4. Blog about it.

So the very first thing I need to do is get F# installed. I'm not going to go into detail on this (check the link for your platform) but I will reflect on a few items. 

1. I'm on OSX. F# is part of the .NET family of languages, but this isn't a problem. The mono framework provides good support for F#, which is an open-source language. Bottom line: you don't need to be on Windows to work with F#. I plan to do this entire project on OSX.
2. Xamarin Studio is a decent .NET IDE on OSX, and also supports F#.
3. Visual Studio Code also provides decent support for F# on Mac.
4. The mono framework, which I already have installed, includes the command line compiler and interactive shell.

I've decided that in general I plan to use Visual Studio Code and the command line compiler for this project. I may try out some other IDE's at some point, but certainly in the early stages I'll work with the leanest tools available. If you want to follow along, you can install Visual Studio Code and mono, which is exactly what I'll be using.

GOTO Command Line Tools