Functional Programming in JavaScript - Understanding Higher Order Functions

Hey guys! How are you doing? Today I want to talk about a topic that can revolutionize the way you write code: Higher Order Functions (HOFs) in functional programming!

If you don't know about HOFs yet or don't know the term, you should definitely pay attention because if you already work in the field, you probably use them on a daily basis.

They are powerful! Basically, HOFs are functions that receive other functions as arguments and/or return functions as a result.

But how can this help us in our day-to-day as developers? Well, by using HOFs, we can divide the code into smaller and simpler functions, which makes the code more readable and easier to understand. Additionally, we can reuse code and encapsulate complexity, making our code more modular and scalable.

Let's take a look at a classic example of HOF: the Array.filter() method. This method is used to filter elements in an array based on a test function provided as an argument. In other words, you can select only the elements that meet a certain condition.

Check out the example below:

const numbers = [1, 2, 3, 4, 5];const evenNumbers = numbers.filter(function (number) {  return number % 2 === 0;});console.log(evenNumbers); // [2, 4]

In this script, we used the Array.filter() function to filter only the even numbers from the numbers array. This is amazing because we can do this in just a few lines of code without having to create a loop to iterate over all the elements.

But Array.filter() is just one of the many HOFs we have at our disposal. We also have the Array.map() method, the Array.reduce() method, the Array.forEach() method, among others. So, if you're not using HOFs in your code yet, you're wasting scalability time.

Well, now that you know a little more about HOFs, it's time to start applying them. With them, you'll write code with fewer bugs and in less time.

So, let's go and put the HOFs in the game!