Scala's functional programming features are a boon to help you design “easy to reason about” systems to control growing software complexities.In this course we practise many functional techniques by solving various graph problems. We start by looking at how we can represent graph structures in an efficient functional manner. Then we explore both the breadth and depth first search graph traversal techniques. Later we use this techniques to show how they can be used for topological sorting and cycle detection. In this course we also describe more complex algorithms such as finding the shortest path and maximal flow networks. All of these solutions are illustrated with easy to understand diagrams and animations. Special care is taken when writing solution so that the principles of functional programming are followed.

By the end of the course, you will be well-versed in all the functional concepts of Scala and you will have refreshed your knowledge of graph algorithms.

About the author

James Cutajar is a software developer with interests in scalable, high-performance computing and distributed algorithms. He is also an open source contributor, author, blogger, and tech evangelist. When he is not writing software, he is riding his motorbike, surfing, or flying light aircraft. He was born in Malta, lived for almost a decade in London, and is now working in Portugal.