TripShot attended the Haskell eXchange 2022 Conference in London, UK. The conference was a fantastic opportunity to learn about the latest happenings in the Haskell community and connect with other developers who are passionate about functional programming. TripShot was delighted to attend this event, especially in the wonderful city of London, which is known for its world-class transit system. 

Haskell and the Importance of the Haskell Community

Haskell is a functional programming language that is known for its advanced type system and lazy evaluation strategy. It has a small but dedicated community of users, and it is often used in research, education and building projects that require high levels of reliability and performance. In recent years, Haskell has gained traction in the industry as a language for building high-performance systems. It has also been used for building web applications and for tasks such as data analysis and banking.

Given its relatively small user base, Haskell conferences are a valuable opportunity for developers to stay current and build connections with others in the Haskell community. This conference provided a chance to engage with experts in the field, and learn about the latest research/development, as well as practical tips and best practices for using Haskell in real-world projects.

Haskell eXchange 2022

Some of the main takeaways from attending the Haskell eXchange 2022 include:

• Benefits of Sharing Knowledge
  The conference included many talks that showcased how companies are using Haskell in their projects today and the lessons learned. When Haskellers come together to share their ideas and experiences, it can spark new ways of thinking and lead to innovative solutions to problems. This also helps bridge skill gaps, especially in Haskell, which is a complex and nuanced programming language. 
• Academia vs Industry
  The Haskell community isn’t driven only by academia or industry. The conference included talks that spoke both to the research and enterprise side of using Haskell. The community is enthusiastic and open-minded to improving the language from both ends. More than any other language, this language lets people leverage both academic research and industry experience.
• Staying up-to-date on tools and libraries
  Haskell conferences provide an opportunity to learn about the latest developments in the language and its ecosystem. One of the exciting things about attending a developer conference is learning about new technologies and tools that are available. At the conference, there were several demos and talks about new libraries as well as ways to use existing tools more efficiently. Sometimes it can be hard to navigate the choices in tools available, I particularly enjoyed a talk by Alyona Antonova where she discussed How to Choose a Haskell Web Framework. 
• Support for New Haskellers
  Over the past decade, the Haskell community has made a number of improvements and changes to the language. In addition to technical improvements, the Haskell community has also made efforts to improve the language's documentation and resources for new users. Mentorship is still essential to the success of the growing group of new Haskell developers. Even high schoolers are now interested in Haskell!
• Strong Haskell Community
  One of the things that impressed me the most was the strong sense of community among the Haskellers. This provides a forum for discussion and support and creates a sense of belonging. The collaborative environment was one where people felt comfortable asking questions and looking for help. This ensures that everyone feels confident contributing to Haskell projects and attracts new members who are looking to learn. TripShot is an active member of the community and our very own Lyle Kopnicky even gave a talk on How to Design a Variadic Non-Empty List Constructor.

Moving Forward

Haskell is a powerful language that has a lot to offer. At TripShot we believe that functional programming is the future of software development, and we are committed to investing in the development and growth of our Haskell team. Overall, the conference was a fantastic opportunity to learn, connect and be inspired by the Haskell community.