Skip to content

What Problems Does Functional Programming Solve in Java?

Functional programming solves almost all of the business use cases OOP solves. In fact, functional programming reduces bugs due to its immutability in nature.

Gopi Gorantala
Gopi Gorantala
— 1 min read

Table of Contents

Did you know all of the software problems or use cases we solve using object-oriented programming style can also be solved using Functional programming?

Yes, 100% of all use cases that can be solved using object-oriented can also be solved using functional programming. The best thing is to decide which one is suited for our use-case when writing/designing a use-case.

Introduction

First of all, functional and object-oriented programming are not opposites. They both will be used alongside.

You need to understand that object-oriented programming is an imperative programming style, whereas functional programming is a declarative style.

Before we jump directly into functional programming, example code snippets, etc., think about what problems it is here to solve in Java.

Problem it solves

One of the biggest advantages of using functional programming is that it reduces code bugs and improves reusability.

So, for pure functions, it always returns the same result/output given the same input arguments.

Functions are not called pure if they change the object's state internally or externally.

The benefit of using a Functional Programming style in Java is that the side effect of a mutable input can be avoided.

How Functional Programming (FP) Gained Popularity?

In object-oriented programming, we bring the data(state) and behavior (methods) that operate on a single unit called objects.

We think that data and methods are different in Functional Programming, so we keep them separate. That’s the major difference between these two programming paradigms.

There are few places where object-oriented falls short or doesn’t provide much guidance, and in these precise areas, functional programming can step in and help.

Java Streams APIJava
Gopi Gorantala

Gopi Gorantala Twitter

Gopi is an engineering leader with 12+ of experience in full-stack development—a specialist in Java technology stack. He worked for multiple startups, the European govt, and FAANG in India and Europe.

Comments

Related Posts

Members Public

Differences Between JDK, JRE, and JVM?

Short answer JDK, JRE, and JVM are essential components of the Java platform, each serving a distinct purpose. Here are the key differences between them: 1. JDK (Java Development Kit): The JDK is used by developers to write, compile, and debug Java code. 2. JRE (Java Runtime Environment): End-users use

Members Public

Difference Between String and char[] in Java

Short answer Strings String is an object with many helpful methods. String class in Java's standard library is designed to handle text as a sequence of characters. A string of characters (string object) is non-modifiable or immutable in Java. Once you've created it, you cannot modify

Members Public

What is an Object class in Java?

Short answer Object class is the super class of every class you can create. In Java, a class extends another class using the keyword extends. If you don't have any other class to extend, that's fine. The compiler will make your class extend the Object class.