HIGHLIGHT A crisp introduction to functional programming for .NET developers--with examples in C# and F#. DESCRIPTION Functional programming languages like F#, Erlang, and Scala are attracting attention as an efficient way to handle the new requirements for programming multi-processor and high-availability applications. Microsoft's new F# is a true functional language and C# uses functional language features for LINQ and other recent advances. Real World Functional Programming is a unique tutorial that explores the functional programming model through the F# and C# languages. The clearly presented ideas and examples teach readers how functional programming differs from other approaches. It explains how ideas look in F#--a functional language--as well as how they can be successfully used to solve programming problems in C#. Readers build on what they know about .NET and learn where a functional approach makes the most sense and how to apply it effectively in those cases. The reader should have a good working knowledge of C#. No prior exposure to F# or functional programming is required. KEY POINTS * Crystal-clear presentation of core functional programming concepts and how to apply them with examples in both F# and C# * How to write efficient functional code for .NET in F# * Identifies tasks that benefit from a functional programming approach MARKET INFORMATION Developers worldwide are adopting functional programming as the answer to developing for systems that require lots of mission-critical programs to run at the same time. From telecom switches to high-availability enterprise applications, to applications designed to run on multi-core processors, functional programming has many immediate uses. Microsoft's F# language has created demand for good, non-academic books on this important topic.