Seven Years in Haskell Heaven 👼
This October marks the eighth edition of Haskell eXchange. Whether you’re a novice just starting out on your Haskell journey, a commercial user, academic, hobbyist — or something in between or beyond — we’d love you to come join the community for two days of skill shaping and swapping!
To tide us over in the meantime, we’ve compiled a list of some of the highlights from the Haskell eXchanges of years gone by. From time spent with major contributors, to a constant stream of informative and innovative talks, Haskell eXchange has constantly helped put some of the FUN back into FUNctional programming 😎
1.) The first time Simon’s celebrated sandals graced the Haskell eXchange stage
2012: At our first edition, Simon Peyton Jones (key Haskell contributor and lead designer of the Glasgow Haskell Compiler) reflected on the key features of the language and the community that led to such creative development.
Things sure have changed in eight years (and not just in terms of our retro branding).
2.) If you’re Haxl and you know it, simplify your remote data 👏
2015: Haxl is an open-source library which simplifies access to remote data and can automatically batch multiple requests to the same data source, request data from multiple sources concurrently and cache previous requests. So it was great when returning Haskell eXchange keynoter, ‘Parallel and Concurrent Programming in Haskell’ author and co-writer of the GHC, Simon Marlow, showed the group how to use it to express concurrency, generalise round-based scheduling and more!
3.) Diving headfirst into Haskell 🏊♀️
2018: Last year, Abby Sassel (software engineer passionate about creating elegant and robust software using type systems) shared a brutally honest experience report after a year spent learning, and working professionally, with Haskell.
Cue some great tips and insights for both beginners and seasoned Haskellers alike.
4.) I love our leisurely Haskell-themed chats, Dad
2018: What do you get if you cross five beer-swigging Haskell experts (including Simon Peyton Jones, Andres Loh, Stephanie Weirich and Jasper Van der Jeugt) with questions about the current — and future — state of the language from a live audience?
Last year’s Park Bench Panel session, of course!
(We’re super excited for this year’s panel sesh too 🍻)
5.) Supersized Haskell
2016: ‘Real World Haskell’ co-author, Don Stewart, opened Haskell eXchange three years ago by exploring the day-to-day practice of using Haskell to write large systems.
From building bigger systems from smaller pieces to techniques for making code maintainable, integrating Haskell into existing systems to managing, and reducing software complexity as system size grows, Don’s talk was a strong start to another fantastic conference.
6.) Miss InDEPENDENT
2018: What has dependent type theory done for Haskell?
Stephanie Weirich (Professor of Computer and Information Science at the University of Pennsylvania) discussed the influence of dependent types on the design of the mighty Glasgow Haskell Compiler, whilst analysing what it means to program with dependent types in Haskell.
Click here to watch Stephanie’s keynote
7.) Community bonding
It’s always a pleasure to hang out with fellow Haskellers and meet new (and old) friends! Learning is in abundance, but so is a real sense of unity and community. And of course, the pizza-laden Day One After Party doesn’t hurt 🎉🍾
Bring on Haskell eXchange 2019!
Another two CodeNode-based days dedicated to all things Haskell, from Thursday 10th — Friday 11th October.
Keynotes include none other than Simon Peyton Jones, Philip Wadler and Gabriele Keller — with more to be announced!
