Exploration Through Example

I was trying to figure out what functional reactive programming (FRP) is. I found the descriptions on the web too abstract(*) and the implementations to be in languages that weren’t easy for me to use. I could have been more patient, but I’ve always found rewriting (documentation and implementation) a good way to understand, so I (1) implemented my own (extremely trivial) library in Ruby and (2) changed the names to ones that made sense to me (since I found the terms commonly used to be more opaque tokens than ones that pointed me toward meaning).

And—why not?—I put the code up on github. I also wrote the documentation/tutorial I wish that I’d found early on.

I should point out that it’s quite possible I never really did understand FRP, making my tutorial a Bad Thing.

(*) I don’t mean to criticize that abstract descriptions. They were written by people in particular interpretive communities for other members. I just happen not to be one of those members.