The False Economy of OOP

For the better part of the last three decades, object-oriented programming has served as the goto strategy for building complex software systems. Yet, much of this time a far more ancient model, functional programming, has been confined to academia. Then at the turn of the century: something peculiar happened -- FP experienced a resurgence in the industry. Yes, for many, it was just a fad, a passing curiosity, if you will. But why the sudden interest? And even more curiously: as FP has gained popularity, why do we have some companies embracing it with enthusiasm, while others have tossed it aside -- rushing back to the familiar world of OOP? The answer is that we are entering the most turbulent time for FP, a time where both its challenges as well as its promises are gaining more attention. Suddenly, what would seem to be completely esoteric questions: "what does it mean to build software?", we are now being forced to confront. And with aging OOP software implementations, and much of the industry clinging onto them: the false economy of OOP -- that is, it's failed promises and innate source of incidental complexity -- is becoming more pronounced. In this talk we will explore the core issues with OOP, and explore exactly why functional programming is becoming the preferred alternative.