[Haskell-beginners] Motivation to Learn Haskell

[Rohit Garg]

I have explored the possibility of making this switch (numpy/scipy ->
Haskell) occasionally (aka - not VERY thoroughly), but a big hindrance
is Haskell's lack of a matplotlib equivalent.

LAPACK/ODE and cousins are comparatively easier to tackle using the C
FFI. But even there, absence of a SWIG module for Haskell is
inconvenient. SWIG alternatives for haskell might exist, but they
aren't as useful as SWIG for many reasons.

On Sat, Sep 4, 2010 at 4:27 AM, Lorenzo Isella <lorenzo.isella at gmail.com> wrote:
> Dear All,
> It is my first post to this list and please do not take it as an attempt to
> start any flamewar.
> From time to time, I try to find the motivation to learn at least the
> fundamentals of another programming language.
> I normally use R and Python on a daily basis (but I am not that much into OO
> programming) and have a good knowledge of Fortran and a rather superficial
> one of C.
> Beside learning a new language as a sort of mind expanding exercise, I try
> to figure out how and if it can save me some time in my work and how it
> measures up against other languages.
> These days I tend to rely on R for data analysis and visualization whereas I
> use Python (in particular Numpy+SciPy) for number crunching (it is very
> convenient to use scipy/numpy to solve ODE's, manipulate arrays and so on).
> Now, I wonder what benefit I would gain from learning Haskell since I mainly
> write codes for numerical simulations/data analysis.
> I know Haskell is gaining momentum e.g. in the financial environment (I
> happened to see Haskell knowledge as a specification in some quant jobs)
> hence it must be more than suitable for numerical work and, by the little I
> have understood so far, it allows one to write code really resembling
> mathematical expressions (I was impressed by guards and curried functions).
> However, it also looks to me (correct me if I am mistaken) that Haskell is a
> far cry from the wealth of standard and contributed scientific modules you
> have in Python or R and thanks to which you do not re-implement the wheel
> yourself.
> Any thoughts/suggestions are really appreciated.
> Cheers
>
> Lorenzo
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-- 
Rohit Garg

http://rpg-314.blogspot.com/