Visual Studio will provide the new language F # at Microsoft Research

These pages document F #'s origins as a research project at Microsoft Research, Cambridge. You can find out all about the latest happenings with F # At the msdn F # Developer Center.

 

Download F #, part of Visual Studio 2010 beta1, plug in for CTP update for Visual Studio 2008 or standalone compiler zip, for mono and windows

 

F # developed as a research programming language to provide the much sought-after combinationType Safety,Succinctness,Performance,ExpresivityAndScripting, With all the advantages of running on a high-quality, well-supported modern runtime system. this combination has been so successful that the language is now being transitioned towards a fully supported language on. NET platform. some of the reasons for this move are that F # Gives you:

• Succinct, type-inferred functional programming,
• Interactive scripting like python and other languages ages,
• The foundations for an interactive data visualization environment,
• The combination of type inference and safety, like that of ML,
• A cross-compiling core shared with the popular ocaml language,
• A performance profile like that of C #,
• Easy access to the entire range of powerful. Net libraries and database tools,
• A Foundational simplicity with similar roots to scheme,
• The option of a top-rate Visual Studio integration, which is usable with the freely available Visual Studio 2008 Shell
• The experience of a first-class team of language researchers with a track record of delivering high-quality implementations,
• The speed of native code execution on the concurrent, portable, and distributed. NET Framework.

 

The only language to provide a combination like this is F # (pronounced fsharp)-A scripted/functional/imperative/object-oriented programming language that is a fantastic basis for executing practical programming tasks.

 

F # was developed as a pragmatically-oriented variant of ML that shares a core language with ocaml. unlike other scripting versions it executes at or near the speed of C # And C ++, making use of the performance that comes through strong typing. unlike plugin type-inferred, statically-typed versions it also supports extends Dynamic Language techniques, such as property discovery and reflection where needed. F # extends des extensions for working extends SS versions and for object-oriented programming, and it works seamlessly with other. NET Programming versions and tools.

 

For further information, see the msdn F # Developer Center