Is Haskell mature enough for web applications? [closed]

Answer 1

Ramiz,

Your title mentions "commerical web applications," while your question doesn't, so I'm assuming that the end goal is to write a web application using a functional programming language.

If this is the case, I recommend that you start with yaws, a fast HTTP server written in the functional concurrent programming language Erlang. You'll learn the ups and downs of twisting PHP-like scripts into a functional mindset, much of which you can then translate into your work with Haskell.

If you'd really like to stick with Haskell, and the choice of language is more important to you than the general functional approach, then take a look at the Real World Haskell book. That will give you a sense of how the language solves common problems that you might be interested in tackling while you learn the language.

Answer 2

There's a fairly rich ecosystem of web related libraries and a small number of commercial users. The company I work at uses Haskell for web apps in the security market.

Have a look at the libraries to see what is on offer: http://hackage.haskell.org/packages/archive/pkg-list.html#cat:web

Answer 3

I for one consider Haskell to be my secret weapon - that tool that gives me a little edge over other developers, and frequently find places to used it in my consulting jobs.

DSLs, for example, are pretty hot these days in custom software. Haskell is a ridiculously good fit for this type of work.

If that isn't the kind of "commercial" environment you have in mind, some kind of polyglot project is probably best (I think good UI is one of Haskell's weaknesses). I have a project going right now that has Haskell running as a fast cgi "service" in the back end (I tend not to like 'frameworks' too much, and really don't like the ones available for Haskell right now), served up by a Flex (Adobe Flash Platform) front end. The eventual intent for this project will be to be sold commercially* to smaller-to-medium sized businesses as a financial planning aid.

Last thing I'll say is that, while I personally love Haskell, I think its FP in general that provides the biggest direct benefit. To this end, if you find yourself eyeing another FP language such as F#, Scala or Erlang, and think it'll be a better fit then I say run with it.

*Actually, the project will be used internally for at least a year before marketting to outside parties begins.

Answer 4

As you learn new languages, the investment required decreases. Even if you start with Haskell, the functional knowledge you gain will help you learn other languages.

It also depends what language you come from. If you come from Java I'd suggest scala, if you come from .net I'd suggest f#