Interesting Stuff

Has anyone coded in F# before? It looks fantastic, but since it was created by Microsoft I don’t expect a version I can use any time soon. but I like the way it describes and separates mutable and immutable data. I like the way it blends functional programming with object oriented stuff, and the way it is compatible with preexisting libraries written in other languages. I like the static type system and the type inference on top of it. It’s got a lot of cool things reminiscent of SML (or OCaml, presumably, if I knew it better) while at the same time keeping an imperative, object-oriented spirit about it.

I’m not wild about some of the syntax, particularly the way it’s hard to tell where the definition of a type ends. and that weird <- operator for storing mutable data. and the bizarre [|...|] delimiters of arrays. and the whole #light declaration and how that totally changes syntax (just pick one way or the other and stick with the decision). But so far my biggest complaint is the syntax, while everything else about F# seems pretty cool. Has anyone actually played around with F#? I'd be interested in hearing how it works in practice.