Side Effects In Functional Programming: A Better Approach
Functional programming keeps core logic pure & predictable, handling side effects at the edges of the app with composition and new data instead of modifying existing state.
Side effects can make code unpredictable and hard to maintain. Let's explore how functional programming helps us handle them effectively.
What Are Side Effects?
A function creates a side effect if it does anything beyond taking inputs and returning outputs. Some common side effects include:
Changing global variables
Modifying input parameters
Writing to files or databases
Making API calls
Updating the DOM
Logging to console
Why Side Effects Can Cause Problems
Here's an example that shows problematic side effects:
let userProfile = {
name: "Alice Johnson",
email: "alic...