Eloquent JavaScript

Chapter 5. Functional Programming

As programs get bigger, they also become more complex and harder to understand. Even the cleverest among us are mere human beings, and a moderate amount of chaos tends to already confuse us. And once confusion sets in, it all goes downhill. Working on something you do not really understand is a bit like cutting random wires on those time-activated bombs they tend to have in movies. If you are lucky, you might get the right one—especially when you’re the hero of the movie and strike a suitably dramatic pose—but there is always the possibility of blowing everything up.

Abstraction

Thus, the programmer is always looking for ways to keep the complexity of his programs as low as possible. An important way to ...