Gain insights into functional programming in Python, learn about functions as objects, recursion, closures, and generators, and discover how to confidently apply these concepts to your projects.

fp_in_python.tar.gz

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The functional programming paradigm can be a powerful tool, especially as it can be integrated seamlessly with procedural and object-oriented code in Python. 

In this course, you’ll learn what functional programming is, how it’s used, and the features of Python that support it. To start, you’ll learn how functions act as objects, the role of mutability, and how to perform recursion. 

In the latter half of the course, you’ll focus on closures, iterables & iterators, generators, and more. Throughout the course will be three exams which will test your understanding and really drive home what you’ve learned.  

By the end, you’ll have a new programming paradigm to add under your belt and have the confidence to start using functional programming in your own projects.

Learn Functional Programming in Python

# Fully recursive solution

Consider this list: 

```python
[1, [2, 3], 4, [[5, 6], 7]] 
```

This list contains a mixture of integers and lists. These lists can also contain a mixture of integers and lists, and, in fact, the whole thing can be nested to any depth. You want to flatten this into a single list containing all the integers in the order they occur in the original unflattened list, as shown here: 

```python
[1, 2, 3, 4, 5, 6, 7] 
```

This is quite interesting because it is hard to come up with a solution that doesn’t involve recursion. *But there are different degrees to which you can use recursion*. We will start with a fully recursive solution.

A simple fully recursive solution works like this:

- We take the original list and divide it into two parts. The first element of the list is called the head, and the rest of the list will be called the tail. 

- The basic method is to flatten the head and the tail and then join them together again.

- Since both parts of the list have been flattened, we get a fully flattened list when we join them together. 

- We recursively call the flatten function to flatten the head and tail.
 
- We need the stopping conditions as well. If we are asked to flatten something that isn’t a list (for example if it is an integer), we create a list from the value and return that. And if we are asked to flatten an empty list, we return an empty list. Here is the code: 


Learn how to shift from a fully recursive solution to a less recursive solution.

Introduction

Functions as Objects

Mutability

Recursion

Functional Programming in Python - Exam 1

Closures

Iterators

Transforming Iterables

Reducing Iterables

Functional Programming in Python - Exam 2

Comprehensions

Generators

Partial Application and Currying

Functors and Monads

Functional Programming in Python - Exam 3

Useful Libraries

Conclusion

Flattening Lists

Fully recursive solution