Ok, I think I can now clearly see the difference between a variable or a function in math, and in Python.
However, math and computing are not the same. How can you possibly represent a concept of an infinite set in a computer language? After all, any computer is a Turing machine, and the sequence of instructions is the very foundation of computing (at least that's how I think about it).
It's interesting: I see many replies to my question, however no one has been able to show me a clear example of some code in FP language, side by side with the same code in Python or C, and point out how the FP code is better (in any way).
I learned programming concepts by studying computer architecture, and after I wrote bunch of MIPS assembly, I could clearly see how C makes my life easier. Then I looked at Python, and I could see, for example, how a concept of a class/object makes my life easier compared to C. So now I'd like to see how FP can make my life easier compared to C or Python. I still don't get it.
There are various arguments for the benefits of functional programming. But that's really beside the point here.
In this particular case, the point was that I created an educational tool for teaching mathematics. It happens to involve a programming language; but the goal isn't to train computer programmers. It's to teach math. So the language used is one that lets you describe functions and quantities the same way as you would in math, and mostly avoids the need to think about a computer doing some sequence of operations.
However, math and computing are not the same. How can you possibly represent a concept of an infinite set in a computer language? After all, any computer is a Turing machine, and the sequence of instructions is the very foundation of computing (at least that's how I think about it).
It's interesting: I see many replies to my question, however no one has been able to show me a clear example of some code in FP language, side by side with the same code in Python or C, and point out how the FP code is better (in any way).
I learned programming concepts by studying computer architecture, and after I wrote bunch of MIPS assembly, I could clearly see how C makes my life easier. Then I looked at Python, and I could see, for example, how a concept of a class/object makes my life easier compared to C. So now I'd like to see how FP can make my life easier compared to C or Python. I still don't get it.