Agent skill
nw-fp-fsharp
F# language-specific patterns, Railway-Oriented Programming, and Computation Expressions
Install this agent skill to your Project
npx add-skill https://github.com/nWave-ai/nWave/tree/main/nWave/skills/nw-fp-fsharp
SKILL.md
FP in F# -- Functional Software Crafter Skill
Cross-references: fp-principles | fp-domain-modeling | pbt-dotnet
When to Choose F#
- Best for: domain modeling on .NET | DDD | railway-oriented programming | pipeline-first design | finance
- Not ideal for: teams needing higher-kinded types | non-.NET platforms | large existing C# codebases resistant to change
[STARTER] Quick Setup
dotnet new console -lang F# -o OrderService && cd OrderService
dotnet new xunit -lang F# -o OrderService.Tests
dotnet add OrderService.Tests reference OrderService
dotnet add OrderService.Tests package FsCheck.Xunit
dotnet test
File order matters: F# compiles files top-to-bottom as listed in .fsproj. Types must be defined before use.
[STARTER] Type System for Domain Modeling
Choice Types (Discriminated Unions)
type PaymentMethod =
| CreditCard of cardNumber: string * expiryDate: string
| BankTransfer of accountNumber: string
| Cash
Record Types and Domain Wrappers
type Customer = {
CustomerId: CustomerId
CustomerName: CustomerName
CustomerEmail: EmailAddress
}
type OrderId = OrderId of int
type EmailAddress = EmailAddress of string
Records have structural equality by default. Single-case DUs have small runtime cost (unlike Haskell's zero-cost newtype).
[STARTER] Validated Construction (Smart Constructors)
module EmailAddress =
let create (rawEmail: string) : Result<EmailAddress, string> =
if rawEmail.Contains("@") then Ok (EmailAddress rawEmail)
else Error $"Invalid email: {rawEmail}"
let value (EmailAddress email) = email
[INTERMEDIATE] Composition Style
Pipeline Operator (The Defining Feature)
let processOrder rawOrder =
rawOrder
|> validateOrder
|> Result.bind priceOrder
|> Result.bind confirmOrder
|> Result.map generateReceipt
Data-last convention: F# functions put primary input last so they compose with |>.
Railway-Oriented Programming (Error-Track Pipelines)
let placeOrder unvalidatedOrder =
unvalidatedOrder
|> validateOrder
|> Result.bind priceOrder
|> Result.bind confirmOrder
|> Result.mapError PlaceOrderError.Validation
Computation Expressions for Monadic Syntax
open FsToolkit.ErrorHandling
let placeOrder rawOrder = result {
let! validated = validateOrder rawOrder
let! priced = priceOrder validated
return! confirmOrder priced
}
Key builders: result { } (error-track) | async { } (async I/O) | task { } (.NET Task interop) | validation { } (accumulate errors, FsToolkit).
[INTERMEDIATE] Effect Management
F# is impure by default. Purity maintained by architectural convention, not the compiler.
Pure Core / Imperative Shell
// Pure domain logic (no I/O, no mutation)
module Domain =
let calculateDiscount (order: Order) : Discount =
if List.length order.OrderLines > 10 then Discount 0.1m
else Discount 0.0m
// Imperative shell (I/O at edges)
module App =
let placeOrderHandler (deps: Dependencies) (rawOrder: UnvalidatedOrder) = async {
let! result =
rawOrder
|> Domain.validateOrder deps.CheckProductExists
|> Result.bind (Domain.priceOrder deps.GetProductPrice)
do! deps.SaveOrder result
return result
}
[ADVANCED] Hexagonal Architecture via Partial Application
// Ports as function types
type FindOrder = OrderId -> Async<Order option>
type SaveOrder = Order -> Async<unit>
// Adapter: concrete implementation
let findOrderInDb (connStr: string) (orderId: OrderId) : Async<Order option> =
async { (* database query *) }
// Composition root: partially apply dependencies
let findOrder = findOrderInDb "Server=localhost;Database=orders"
Dependencies first, primary input last. Partially apply at composition root.
[INTERMEDIATE] Testing
Frameworks: FsCheck (QuickCheck port) | fsharp-hedgehog (integrated shrinking) | Expecto (F#-native) | Unquote (assertions). See pbt-dotnet for detailed PBT patterns.
Property Test Example (FsCheck + xUnit)
open FsCheck.Xunit
[<Property>]
let ``validated orders always have positive totals`` (rawOrder: RawOrder) =
match validateOrder rawOrder with
| Error _ -> true
| Ok valid -> orderTotal valid > Money 0m
[<Property>]
let ``serialization round-trips`` (order: Order) =
order |> serialize |> deserialize = Ok order
Custom Generator
let genValidEmail = gen {
let! user = Gen.nonEmptyListOf (Gen.elements ['a'..'z']) |> Gen.map (fun cs -> System.String(Array.ofList cs))
let! domain = Gen.nonEmptyListOf (Gen.elements ['a'..'z']) |> Gen.map (fun cs -> System.String(Array.ofList cs))
return EmailAddress $"{user}@{domain}.com"
}
[ADVANCED] Idiomatic Patterns
Document Lifecycle as Separate Types
type UnvalidatedOrder = { RawName: string; RawEmail: string; RawLines: string list }
type ValidatedOrder = { Name: CustomerName; Email: EmailAddress; Lines: OrderLine list }
type PricedOrder = { ValidOrder: ValidatedOrder; Total: Money; Lines: PricedOrderLine list }
Each stage is a distinct type. Pipeline transforms one into the next.
Collect-All-Errors Validation
open FsToolkit.ErrorHandling
let validateCustomer (raw: RawCustomer) = validation {
let! name = validateName raw.Name
and! email = validateEmail raw.Email
and! address = validateAddress raw.Address
return { Name = name; Email = email; Address = address }
}
Project structure: Domain types/workflows in OrderService.Domain/ | adapters in OrderService.Infrastructure/ | composition root in OrderService.App/. File ordering in .fsproj defines compilation order.
Maturity and Adoption
- .NET dependency: Deployment outside .NET (native, WASM) is limited. Tooling improvements lag behind C#.
- Smaller community: Fewer libraries, tutorials, Stack Overflow answers than C#. Community is helpful but small.
- File ordering constraint: Top-to-bottom compilation prevents circular dependencies (benefit) but frustrates developers used to free ordering. Refactoring file order is a real cost.
- Second-class .NET citizen: New .NET features (Blazor, MAUI) often ship C#-first with delayed or incomplete F# support.
Common Pitfalls
- File order dependency: Types in
B.fscannot referenceA.fsifA.fslisted afterB.fs. Reorder files when adding dependencies. - No higher-kinded types: Cannot abstract over
Result<_,_>vsOption<_>generically. Use concrete types or computation expressions. - .NET OO pressure: C# interop pushes toward classes. Resist: use modules, records, and DUs as primary modeling tools.
- Forgetting Result.mapError: When composing steps with different error types, unify with
Result.mapErrorbeforeResult.bind.
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