PureScript in 45 Minutes

Installing PureScript

To install PureScript use npm i -g purescript

Install Build Tools

Pulp and Bower are the default build tools for PureScript projects. To install those run npm i -g pulp bower

Create a Project

The pulp build tool has commands that allow you to build a simple application in a matter seconds. To create a PureScript application in your current directory run pulp init.

Build a Project

The pulp init scaffolds out an application for you but you also have to build it before it can run. To do this run pulp build.

Run a Project

Now that you have an application and it’s build you can now run it. To do this run pulp run. If you have not done anything else to the scaffolded project then you should see Hello, sailor! in the console.

Run a Project in the Browser

Because PureScript is universal you can build a project that works in the browser as well. To do this run pulp build -O --to main.js to create a bundle.

Types

To learn about types open up the file src/Data/Types.purs.

Pattern Matching

To learn about pattern matching open up the file src/Data/PatternMatching.purs.

Foreign Function Interface

To learn about FFI open up the file src/Data/FFI.purs.

Records

To learn about Records open up the file src/Data/Records.purs.

Interesting Facts

• PureScript is strictly evaluated
• No-runtime as in Elm
• Side-effects are handled explicitly
• A bunch of cool operators (#, >>>, <<<, >>=, $, >>, <$>, etc.)
• Extremely flexible/expressive language compared (Patterns, Types, Guards, Records)
• Immutable data types
• Works seamlessly with JavaScript/Node (CommonJS modules)
• Property based testing (QuickCheck)
• Works on the server and in the browser meaning it’s Isomorphic Universal