This is the first book to bring F# to the world. It is likely to have many imitators but few competitors. Written by F# evangelist, Rob Pickering, and tech reviewed by F#'s inventor, Don Syme, it is an elegant, comprehensive introduction to all aspects of the language and an incisive guide to using F# for real-world professional development. It is detailed, yet clear and concise, and suitable for readers at any level of experience. Functional programming (FP) is the future of .NET programming and F# is much, much more than just an FP language. Those already familiar with FP will find F# the language they've always dreamed of. All .NET programmers will find F# an exciting real-world alternative to C# and Visual Basic. Every professional .NET programmer needs to learn about FP, and there's no better way to do it than by learning F# -- and no easier way to learn F# than from this book. F# is the future of programming (not just on .NET), and the future is now.