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up vote 4 down vote favorite

I've been looking for functional language with C-like syntax and static typing. So far my choice would be Nemerle. Is there anything else/better?

EDIT:

second choice would be Lua or Go.

Any pros and cons?

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I think you should specify which features you are interested in, behind static typing. – CheatEx Apr 26 '11 at 13:21
I will not be using it in a project (at least for now). I want to learn functional programming with the language as a platform. It has to be mature enough, running on windows. Would be great to have interactive mode. Also, not very complicated. – lukas Apr 26 '11 at 13:32

5 Answers

up vote 8 down vote accepted

In general functional languages do not have C like syntax, It comes down to the fact that functional languages do things differently than C type languages so the syntax tends to be very different (and often shorter). At least for me adopting to the new syntax has not been a big deal when picking up languages. Right now I'm spending most of my time on Erlang but also took a look at Haskell and have done scheme in the past.

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1  
I do think for some the syntax is wildly different and that can be scary. Although, after a day or two looking at Lisp I can say that I absolutely love the syntax. Sometimes it is better to just break out of ones comfort zone! – Jetti Apr 26 '11 at 12:59
yep but Lisp has very weak type system. – lukas Apr 26 '11 at 13:12
True, but take say Haskell, which has a crazy strong type system, its got its own ideas on on syntax but it kind of grows on you. – Zachary K Apr 26 '11 at 13:29
@lukas - Like Zachary said, I'm more stating the fact that the syntax will grow on you after awhile, but only if you give it a chance. – Jetti Apr 26 '11 at 13:44
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@lukas: Common Lisp has a strong type system. All objects are typed, and the type is determinable in detail at any time. You may be thinking that it has a dynamic, not static, type system. – David Thornley Apr 26 '11 at 13:46
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up vote 0 down vote

For you purposes (from the second comment) you should pick a language as little similar to C as possible, IMHO. Prolog and Scheme are best match to you requirements (except C-style syntax, of cause).

Anyway, you should keep in mind that all languages in your list are general-purpose and industry-oriented. They are not intended to be used for learning.

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up vote 5 down vote

I would say JavaScript

  • It is a functional language
  • It uses C syntax

  • It can be used on a variety of operating systems (in both client and server mode), can be embedded in a lot of platforms (.NET, Java, Qt )

    This can be useful.

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up vote 2 down vote

Scala has a distinctly C like syntax, albeit with an Object-oriented layer on top which comes via Java. The language is a nice blend of functional programming in the Standard ML family with an object-oriented language whose type system is tightly built into the ML-style static type inferencer of the language.

This means that you can type inference and pattern match over objects of user-defined classes in configurable ways, while keeping the strong-typedness which the ML-family languages are known for.

That said, I'd agree with the other posters -- consider stretching yourself a little more; learn a lisp, which is to say a language which is almost without syntax, and you'll never be hung up on `which' syntax your next language has again. :-)

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up vote 1 down vote

Single Assignment C is the first that comes to mind.

However, I agree with the others. The syntax of functional languages can often be the interesting part! For instance, you can embed BASIC syntax inside Haskell's!

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