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Learn Functional Programming in Python

Add functional programming to your toolbox without pretending Python is Haskell.

What you'll learn in this Python course

Functional programming is back in vogue. There's a reason front-end frameworks like React and Vue are moving toward functional programming, and after this course you'll more than understand its benefits. We'll dive in-depth into all of the foundational concepts of functional programming in a familiar language.

Chapter List

1
Functional Programming
Learn about the difference between OOP and functional styles, and what the real difference is: imperative vs. declarative
2
First-Class Functions
First-class and higher-order functions are foundational to everything we do in the functional paradigm.
3
Pure Functions
My favorite part of functional programming is the focus on pure functions that are easy to test and reason about
4
Recursion
While not unique to functional programming, recursion is a powerful tool that is used often when trying to avoid imperative code
5
Function Transformations
Learn how to transform functions into other functions to write more abstract and generalized code
6
Closures
Learn about encapsulating state within functions and how to use closures to write more expressive code
7
Currying
Learn to transform a function with multiple parameters into a series of functions with one parameter, and why you might want to do that
8
Decorators
Learn about Python's decorators and how they're essentially syntactic sugar for higher-order functions
9
Sum Types
Learn about sum types, a powerful way to represent data that is used in many functional languages

Join 40,889 students in the Learn Functional Programming in Python course

Read reviews of their learning experiences

Cool way to learn a different way of programming

(3/5)
Omega Rae profile image

Omega Rae

United States

Though this was a very informative course, I am still not sure on the application of things like currying, decorators etc.

(5/5)
Hassan Ahmed profile image

Hassan Ahmed

Pakistan

sometimes it wasnt clear wat to du

(2/5)
Petr Konopa profile image

Petr Konopa

Czechia

a little difficult

(5/5)
Hu L profile image

Hu L

北京

Honestly I just may be stupid but this has been by far the most difficult tutorial so far. I either needed a lot more guidance or explanation on many of the topics or just this wasn't for me. My confidence in my programming skills has dropped significantly after this course.

(2/5)
Jirka Kotek profile image

Jirka Kotek

Czechia

This one took me a long time to complete. Some genuinely hard lessons in here, but perseverance, and a little AI help got me through it. Onward!

(5/5)
Jon Siegrist profile image

Jon Siegrist

United States

Learned a lot from this particular course, amazing stuff.

(5/5)
Marco B profile image

Marco B

Switzerland

A fun introduction to a new programming paradigm.

(5/5)
3313  profile image

3313

Italy

A challenging break from the RPG-themed "quests," but logical and on-topic. However, I still found myself returning to more firmly-implanted mechanics (i.e. loops) to accomplish some tasks.

(5/5)
eder brenn profile image

eder brenn

Japan

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Mediocrity doesn't cut it anymore

The only way to become a great developer is to write a lot of code

Avoid tutorial hell

by writing a ton of code

Stay motivated with

a game-like curriculum

Build portfolio projects

to prove your skills

Delve deeper

into foundational concepts

Learn flexibly online

without interrupting your life

For 1% the price of college

to minimize your financial risk

Frequently asked Questions

Got questions? We've got answers

Yes! It's free to create an account and start learning. You'll get all the immersive and interactive features for free for a few chapters. After that, if you still haven't paid for a membership, you'll be in read-only (content only) mode.