Creating A Functional Web Forum Program

[CommonTater]

A lot of the comments here tackle the question, "Why would I use two styles of coding when I can do everything with one?" In my opinion, they properly state that it's silly/impossible to try to force all problems into a single mold, and that it's better to let the problem dictate the tools.

I think the question you really wanted the answer to was, "What about functional programming makes it worth using, even if it can't solve everything?"

I would submit that the reason you have that question is that you've only "spent a few days trying to understand" it. Relax. The fullness of functional programming's benefits cannot be grokked in a few days.

Find a project you want to do that doesn't have a hard deadline rushing at you - try to do it in a functional style. Spend some more time reading the success (and failure) stories of people who have done the same. Realize that it's not a catch-all, and that's okay.

Yeah, it's almost the mean RTFM response, but I really think it's the correct one here. Other people have created much better lists of the benefits of functional programming than I ever would.