Technology update: functional programming with F#
F# is a simple, type safe, and efficient functional programming language with special expressiveness in parallel programming, scripting, and algorithmic development. F# combines the advantages of typed functional programming with a high-quality, well-supported modern runtime system and the .NET library and tools base. F# is freely available for .NET and Mono development across Windows, Mac, and Linux, and has a very successful professional implementation in Visual Studio 2010. To support teaching of F#, Microsoft Research is working in conjunction with the F# community to ensure a consistent learning experience across all three platforms. F# originates from Microsoft Research, Cambridge and the Microsoft Research F# team, led by Don Syme, in partnership with the Microsoft Developer Division.
A lot of information can be found in the F# Developer Center
Take a look at the F# at Microsoft Research homepage
You can download the latest release of F# (November 2010) here
As a student or professor you can download Visual Studio 2010
Professional Edition (EN) through DreamSpark
Professional, Premium and Ultimate Editions (EN,FR) through MSDNAA
Start by viewing the getting started movie
Check out the learning resources and the documentation
The Computer Science theme at Microsoft Research, Redmond, led by Judith Bishop, organized a workshop on F# in education. This workshop discussed the projects underway for F# courseware, implementations, and compiler open-sourcing. The workshop welcomed participation from all academics interested in F# as a possible teaching language, as well as from those in industry wanting to know what it can offer for them. The program offered a variety of talks covering all areas of use and implementation of the language.