Beyond Functional Programming: The Verse Programming Language (2022) [pdf]
Simon Peyton Jones presents Verse, a programming language developed by Epic Games that extends beyond functional programming. Verse introduces a new computational model based on "simulation" rather than traditional computation, aiming to unify functional, imperative, and concurrent programming paradigms into a single coherent language design.
Background
- **Simon Peyton Jones** is a renowned computer scientist who co-created Haskell (a pure functional language) and now works at Epic Games; his endorsement signals a major shift.
- **Verse** is a new programming language developed by Epic Games, designed for high-performance, concurrent, and distributed systems (like game engines and the metaverse).
- This talk contrasts traditional **functional programming** (which avoids mutable state and side effects) with Verse's "logical" approach, where programs are more like logical constraints that the runtime solves.
- The talk is aimed at Haskell developers, explaining why Verse moves beyond Haskell's paradigm while still drawing on its lessons.
- Why it matters: Verse could shape how future large-scale, real-time systems (e.g. Unreal Engine, Fortnite's ecosystem) are programmed, potentially bringing functional-style reasoning to mainstream game development.