X) Functional Programming and Big Data

Question 1

Functional Programming Paradigm

Answer 1

A language where each line of code calls a function, which is made up of other functions or result in a value.

• Statements are written as a series of functions.
• Each accepts input data as arguments and returns an output.

Question 2

Declarative Programming Languages

Answer 2

A language that declares or specifies what properties a result should have. Example; Functional Programming.

Question 3

Procedural Programming Languages

Answer 3

A language where the programmer specifies the steps that must be carried out in order to achieve a result.

Question 4

Why Functional Programming Paradigms are used?

Answer 4

• Code is much easier to write.
• Easier for the programmer to understand.
• Easier to predict how the program will run.
• Used for writing programs which take advantage of parallel processing.

Question 5

A Function type

Answer 5

Refers to the way in which an expression is created.

Question 6

Domain and Co-domain

Answer 6

A domain is a set of data of the same type, which are the inputs of the function.
A Co-domain is a set of values from which the outputs of a function must be drawn.

Question 7

Types and type classes

Answer 7

Functional languages such as Haskell use types such as; Integer, FLOAT, Bool & Char.
Typeclasses are sets of types, e.g. Num;
Includes, Integer + Float.

Question 8

First Class objects

Answer 8

A first-class object is any object that can be used as an argument or result of a function call. 
These objects can be assigned to a variable, assigned as an argument and can be returned in a function call.

Question 9

Statelessness

Answer 9

In a procedual program the following statement is able to be executed:
x = 5
x = x + 1
In a functional programming language, the value of a variable cannot change.
Variables are immutable and the program is said to be stateless.

Question 10

Referential Transparency

Answer 10

The only thing a function can do is calculate and return a result, it has no SIDE EFFECTS.
On the other hand, not being able to change the value of an object, results in the function returning the same result.

Question 11

Function Application

Answer 11

The process of giving particular inputs to a function. Example:
add3integers x y z = x + y + z
add3integers :: integer [2] -> (integer [4] ->
( integer [5] -> integer [11] ) )
add3integers 2 4 5
11

Question 12

What is Big Data?

Answer 12

Big data is data that is collected on such a large scale that it cannot be easily analysed.
Large organisations collect and use big data, such as the police, NHS and the government.

Question 13

Characteristics of big data

Answer 13

Volume- the amount of data being collected is on a very large scale.
Variety- the type of data being collected is wide, can be difficult to classify.
Velocity- the data changes quickly and may include constant changes in data sources.

Question 14

Map and fold operations

Answer 14

Map and reduce operations can be efficiently paeallelised, many processors can work simultaneously on parts of a dataset without affecting other parts.

Question 15

Graph schema

Answer 15

Can represent the structure and relationships between data items.

Question 16

Function Application

Answer 16

The process of calculating the result of a function by passing it some data to produce an output.