What is functional programming? Functional programming is a programming paradigm that treats computation as the evaluation of mathematical functions and avoids changing state and mutable data. It emphasizes the application of functions, in contrast to the imperative programming paradigm, which emphasizes changes in state.
What is a pure function and how do we know if something is a pure function? A pure function is a function that, given the same input, will always return the same output and does not have any observable side effects. We know something is a pure function if it meets these two conditions: it consistently yields the same result for the same input, and it does not cause side effects, like modifying an external state.
What are the benefits of a pure function? The benefits of a pure function include predictability, ease of testing, and the ability to reuse code. Because pure functions do not depend on or alter the state of the program, they are much easier to reason about, debug, and test. They also facilitate functional composition, where the result of one function can be seamlessly passed to another.
What is immutability? Immutability is a concept in functional programming where data structures cannot be modified after they are created. Instead of changing the original data structure, immutable operations return new data structures with the applied changes, preserving the original state.
What is Referential transparency? Referential transparency is a property of expressions in functional programming that allows them to be replaced with their values without changing the behavior of the program. This is closely related to the concept of pure functions, as referentially transparent expressions can be considered pure functions.
What is a module? A module is a discrete unit of code that can be separately developed and maintained and can be imported into other parts of a Node.js application, promoting code reuse and modular programming.
What does the word ‘require’ do? The word ‘require’ is used in Node.js to import modules into a file. It allows you to include and use functions, objects, or primitives defined in another file or module within your current file.
How do we bring another module into the file the we are working in?
We bring another module into the file we are working in by using the require() function, passing the path to the module file as its argument. This makes the exported members of the module available in the file.
What do we have to do to make a module available?
To make a module available to be required by other files, you need to export it using module.exports. You can assign a function, an object, or any value to module.exports that you want to make available outside of the module.
I’m interested in delving deeper into functional programming, specifically how it can be applied in a stateful environment like web development where side effects are common. Additionally, I’d like to explore more complex aspects of Node.js modules, such as dynamic imports and managing dependencies in large