Expert F# 2.0 is about practical programming in a beautiful language that puts the power and elegance of functional programming into the hands of professional developers. In combination with .NET, F# achieves unrivaled levels of programmer productivity and program clarity. Expert F# 2.0 is The authoritative guide to F# by the inventor of F# A comprehensive reference of F# concepts, syntax, and features A treasury of expert F# techniques for practical, real-world programming F# isn't just another functional programming language. It's a general-purpose language ideal for real-world development. F# seamlessly integrates functional, imperative, and object-oriented programming styles so you can flexibly and elegantly solve any programming problem. Whatever your background, youll find that F# is easy to learn, fun to use, and extraordinarily powerful. F# will change the way you think aboutand go aboutprogramming. Written by F#'s inventor and two major contributors to its development, Expert F# 2.0 is the authoritative, comprehensive, and in-depth guide to the language and its use. Designed to help others become experts, the first part of the book quickly yet carefully describes the F# language. The second part then shows how to use F# elegantly for a wide variety of practical programming tasks. The world's foremost experts in F# show you how to program in F# the way they do! What youll learn Explore F# and its features quickly and thoroughly in the introductory chapters Use F# with the newest .NET technologies such as WPF, LINQ, and ASP.NET AJAX Build reactive, asynchronous, and distributed applications with F# Interoperate with F# from other .NET languages, especially C# Test, profile, and performance tune F# applications Work with real-life examples and advanced programming features Who this book is for Expert F# 2.0 is for anyone interested in state-of-the art .NET programming. Professional programmers will find it engrossing. F# provides invaluable insight into the future of both C# and VB, which are now adopting some (but far from all) of the functional features of F#. Once programmers learn F#, few feel like returning to either C# or VB. The academic community will find F# the answer to a decades-long prayer: a language suitable for teaching computer science that also excites and empowers students because it can be used not just in the classroom, but also in the real world. Table of Contents Introduction Getting Started with F# and NET Creating Your First F# ProgramIntroducing Functional Programming Introducing Imperative Programming Mastering Types and Generics Working with Objects and Modules Encapsulating and Packaging Your Code Mastering F#: Common Techniques Introducing Language-Oriented Programming Using the F# and NET Libraries Building Graphical User Interfaces Working with Symbolic Representations Reactive, Asynchronous, and Parallel Programming Building Smart Web Applications Working with Data Lexing and Parsing Interoperating with C and COM Debugging and Testing F# Programs Designing F# Libraries