Pete Chown <1@234.cx> writes:
One snag is that I doubt you could ring up an agency and ask for half a dozen Haskell programmers. You could probably get people who did a bit of functional programming as part of a computer science degree, but that may not be enough for your needs. (Having said that, if you did manage to find contract Haskell programmers, you would probably get people who were highly skilled, and enthusiastic about the chance to use the language.)
Me me! Pick me! Oh I'd love to do contract work with Haskell.
In other words, Haskell might be a good answer technically, but it could paint the client into a corner business-wise.
I could easily come up with a bunch of resumes or CVs from smart #haskell people who would enjoy doing contract work in Haskell. (where bunch = at least ten, and probably more than twenty)
I currently have a small amount of business logic that is implemented in Haskell, and I want to see it increase, but I'm always worried that this is going to happen. I don't want a job for life maintaining this stuff, I want to delegate it to others at an appropriate time.
Me me! Pick me!
You might find that Java, for example, would have more support for this type of application, out of the box. Although Java is an unimaginative language, I find that productivity isn't too bad, mainly because there is plenty of library support for typical applications. With Haskell, writing the business logic is quicker, but some of the time saved gets spent implementing things that come as standard with Java.
Libraries need to be implemented only once, after that everything gets faster. Plus there's a lot more Haskell code out there than most people know about. If you're looking for something specific, ask on the #haskell channel or here on the mailing lists.
I'm finding this quite a struggle, to be honest. I can cope easily with the various homework assignments that get posted here, but I find it hard thinking about large applications in functional terms. I'm building up to larger applications, but I'd feel nervous tackling something the size you are talking about at the moment.
I'm fond of monad transformers for structuring larger applications. More details upon request... -- I've tried to teach people autodidactism, | ScannedInAvian.com but it seems they always have to learn it for themselves.| Shae Matijs Erisson