Christian Lescher wrote:
In my opinion there are many more real world problems, that can be most efficiently solved with functional languages like Haskell, as (software) industry can think of at the moment; they only know their C/C++, Java, etc. but can't even think of the power of functional programming or at least don't take languages like Haskell for full. (Of corse, there are exceptions to the rule, too.)
What do you think: Will Haskell (the related compilers/tools) be "commercialized" in the future?
I very much doubt that a "pure" Haskell (ie, a pure functional language) is a marketable proposition, but certainly "impure" functional languages or languages with heavy functional aspects (ML, Lisp, Erlang etc.) which retain imperative elements have the potential to break through and start a resurgence of functional techniques in the commercial world. Before that happens people must become disillusioned with Java, C, C++ and other mainstays of the commercial developer, of course.