Functional Programming Patterns in Scala and Clojure

Pattern 19

Focused Mutability

Intent

To use mutable data structures in small, performance-sensitive parts of a program hidden inside of a function while still using immutable data throughout the majority

Overview

Programming with performant, immutable data on machines that are built out of fundamentally mutable components, like main memory and disk, is almost magical. A whole host of technology has contributed to making it possible, especially on the JVM. Growing processor power and memory sizes make it increasingly unnecessary to squeeze every last drop of performance out of a machine.

Small, transient objects are cheap to create and to destroy, thanks to the JVM’s excellent generational garbage collector. Both Scala and Clojure use extremely ...