Gabriel Gonzales: Applied category theory and abstract algebra - λC Winter Retreat 2017

Gabriel Gonzales explains how to tackle software complexity by reusing standard interfaces from category theory and abstract algebra in Haskell.

The Haskell programming language resembles "executable math" and this mathematical connection challenges us to rethink how we organize our code. We can tackle software complexity by reusing standard interfaces that originate in the fields of category theory and abstract algebra. These interfaces improve code reuse for end-users, and also simplify correctness proofs for library authors. You should attend this session if you've ever pondered questions such as: "What is the point of category theory?" "Can correctness proofs scale to larger software projects?" "What is the connection between math and programming?" This session assumes basic Haskell programming literacy (specifically familiarity with type classes) but does not assume a mathematical background so you don't have to know any category theory. I will use Haskell code to motivate and explain all concepts. All examples will be real code that compiles and there won't be any mathematical notation, category theory diagrams, or pseudo-code. By the end of this session you should understand how to better apply these standard mathematical interfaces in your own code and also understand basic techniques for scaling correctness proofs.