Over the past several years, we have seen a resurgence of interest in functional programming languages, particularly with the success of Scala and R in the marketplace. Although object-oriented (oo) design remains the dominant software development paradigm, even oo-first languages have seen a shift toward the functional mindset with the emphasis on LINQ in C# and lambdas in Java. This move toward a functional style should be particularly welcome for data platform specialists, who already have a leg up in understanding functional programming concepts thanks to their work with SQL.

In this talk, we will focus on one functional programming language, F#. We will look at some of the basics of the language and see how you can translate knowledge of SQL into a pipeline-driven functional programming language. We will also see areas where F# integrates smoothly with SQL, creating a powerful way to extend your SQL skills beyond queries.