Thank you for purchasing the MEAP for Taming Complex Software: A friendly guide to functional thinking and congratulations on this exciting step in your journey into functional programming.

When I first started with functional programming back in 2001, I was an outlier. The world was infatuated with Java and almost nothing else would get you a job. People made fun of me for my choice. I knew that it was a better way to program.

Luckily, the world has evolved. Functional programming is now an accepted and highly sought skill. Why? Because the software we write does not run on its own. It’s part of a vast distributed system. Even the simplest web apps have browsers and a server in communication. Functional programming gives us tools for dealing with the complexity involved in these systems.

This book is for anyone interested in expanding their mind with a new perspective and expanding their toolbelt with powerful new techniques. All you’ll need is the ability to read JavaScript and curiosity. You won’t need to be a JavaScript expert or even have much experience with it. JavaScript syntax is much like C, Java, or C#, so if you know those languages, you’re also good to go.

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