The SOF Programming Paradigm: A Sequence of Pure Functions

Abstract

Out of the four main programming paradigms, it is widely considered that functional programming is the most promising. The programming languages that implement the functional paradigm generally do so either in a pure manner, such as Haskell, or by providing a multi-paradigm programming solution, such as most Lisp dialects, in order to allow side effects, which are proscribed under the former (pure) model. Nevertheless, tracking the execution steps of such a functional program remains challenging for the programmer. In this paper, the author addresses this issue by proposing a novel programming paradigm that combines the imperative programming approach based on a sequence of instructions with the pure function approach of functional programming, the objective being to retain the advantages of both strategies. This proposal is named “sequence of functions” (SOF), and its applicability and novelty are shown hereinafter throughout various examples and experiments.