Chapter 3. Building blocks of Clojure

This chapter covers

  • Clojure metadata
  • Java exceptions
  • Higher-order functions
  • Scoping rules
  • Clojure namespaces
  • Clojure’s destructuring feature
  • Clojure’s reader literals

When people are good at something already (such as a programming language), and they try to learn something new (such as another programming language), they often fall into what Martin Fowler (martinfowler.com/bliki/Improvement-Ravine.html) calls an “improvement ravine.” For programming, the ravine refers to the drop in productivity experienced when one has to relearn how to do things in the new language. We’ve all been guilty of switching back to a language we’re already good at to get the job done. It sometimes takes several attempts ...

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