Value Oriented Programming: A Manifesto

Object Oriented Programming

The primitive entities are objects which have certain properties

  • Objects have Identity
  • Objects have State
  • Objects have Behavior

Values are not Objects

The primitive entities are values which have none of the properties of Objects

  • Values have no identity
  • Values have no State
  • Values have no Behavior

A positive definition of VOP

  • Values are Equivalent
  • Values are Immutable
  • Values are Side-effect Free

Values are Equivalent

One entity with a value will give the same results as a different entity with the same value. All ‘fives’ are the same. This allows equational reasoning. If `a` and `b` have the same value, `f(a)` and `f(b)` have the same value.

Values are Immutable

‘five’ never becomes ‘six’. Values do not change.

Values are Side-effect free

No operation on a value has an effect on other values. Temporal changes are explicit.

Value Oriented Programming does not deny Objects

  • There are things with identity
  • There are things that vary over time
  • There are things that affect the state of other things

Values are are a better basis

We can, and do, build objects out of values, but objects in the OO sense are impossible to reason about.

Values are.


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