Categories for the Working Programmer

The Haskell community is famous - perhaps infamous - for its enthusiasm for category theory. Why is this? Is it important to understand categories before you can understand Haskell programs? Is it an attempt to keep the community as pure as the language? Is it just that Haskell is a refuge for underemployed mathematicians? None of the above!

In this talk, I hope to explain a little bit about how categories can help the working functional programmer. I'll focus on categories as an organising principle, helping us to manage generic libraries. No monads were harmed during the making of this talk.

Talk objectives: To give a little insight into how category theory helps practical program design.

Target audience: Functional programmers, curious about the fuss around category theory.