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hemanth/functional-programming-jargon

★ 18,637Audience · developerComplexity · 1/5DormantLicenseSetup · easy

TLDR

A glossary explaining functional programming terms (monad, functor, currying, etc.) in plain language with JavaScript examples.

Mindmap

mindmap
  root((repo))
    What it does
      Defines FP terms
      Shows code examples
      Links resources
    Key concepts
      Currying
      Pure functions
      Function composition
      Category theory
    Format
      Glossary entries
      JavaScript examples
      Multi-language
    Audience
      New FP learners
      Developers switching paradigms
      Reference seekers

Things people build with this

USE CASE 1

Look up what a functional programming term means when reading code or documentation.

USE CASE 2

Learn functional programming concepts by reading plain-language definitions and JavaScript examples.

USE CASE 3

Reference the glossary while learning a functional language or library like Haskell or Ramda.

Tech stack

JavaScript

Getting it running

Difficulty · easy Time to first run · 5min
Use freely for any purpose, including commercial use, as long as you keep the copyright notice.

In plain English

Functional Programming Jargon is a glossary that explains the technical terms used in functional programming, a style of writing software, in plain language with JavaScript examples. Functional programming has its own vocabulary full of terms borrowed from mathematics (like monad, functor, morphism, and applicative) that can be intimidating for developers coming from other backgrounds. Each entry in the glossary defines a term, shows a short code example illustrating the concept, and sometimes links to further reading. Topics covered include common concepts like currying (transforming a multi-argument function into a chain of single-argument functions), pure functions (functions without side effects), closures, and function composition, as well as more advanced mathematical concepts from category theory. The examples are written in JavaScript, and the glossary is available in translations for many other languages and programming environments including Portuguese, Spanish, Chinese, Russian, Korean, Polish, and others. This is a reference document, not a software library.

Copy-paste prompts

Prompt 1
I'm learning functional programming and keep seeing the word 'monad', use the functional-programming-jargon repo to explain what it means with a JavaScript example.
Prompt 2
Show me how currying works in JavaScript using the functional-programming-jargon glossary as a reference.
Prompt 3
What's the difference between a pure function and a function with side effects? Explain using the functional-programming-jargon repo.
Prompt 4
I want to understand function composition, pull the definition and example from the functional-programming-jargon glossary and explain it simply.
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Generated 2026-05-18 · Model: sonnet-4-6 · Verify against the repo before relying on details.