Concepts/functions generating functions (#589)

* Added functions-generating-functions concept

* Added functions-generating-functions concept

* Made examples more readable by introducing new lines. Added .meta/config.json and updated links.json

* Deleted html file from functions-generating-functions concept, updated config.json, and made about.md have the same content as introduction.md

.gitignore

@@ -21,3 +21,6 @@ pom.xml.asc
 .clj-kondo
 .lsp
 *.calva
+**/*/*.ipynb_checkpoints
+concepts/functions-generating-functions/introduction_files/
+concepts/functions-generating-functions/*.html

concepts/functions-generating-functions/.meta/config.json

@@ -0,0 +1,4 @@
+{
+    "blurb": "We explore here four important cases of high-order functions that are used to generate new functions: `partial`, `comp`, `memoize` and `juxt`",
+    "authors": ["JaumeAmoresDS"]
+  }

concepts/functions-generating-functions/about.md

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+# About
+
+Being a functional language, functions in Clojure are first-class citizens. This means that they can be passed to and generated by other functions just like data. Clojure in particular comes with a rich set of high-order functions that derive new functions based on existing ones. We will explore here four important cases: `partial`, `comp`, `memoize` and `juxt`. These function-generating functions fall into a broader category of higher-order functions, such as `map`, `reduce`, `apply`, `complement`, to name a few, which operate on existing functions.
+
+## partial
+
+In general, given an existing function `my-function`, with parameters `p1, p2, ..., pN` we can fix some of its parameters `p1, p2, ..., pM` to have constant values `v1, v2, ..., vM`. We do so by applying `partial` as follows: `(partial my-function v1 v2 ... vM)`. 
+
+The result is a new function which applies the original one `my-function` by fixing `p1=v1, p2=v2, ..., pM=vM`. Our new function takes as input the remaining parameters `pM+1, pM+2, ..., pN`, whose values have not been indicated when applying `partial`:
+
+```clojure
+(def my-new-function 
+  (partial my-function v1 v2 ... vM))
+(my-new-function xM+1 xM+2 ... xN)
+; => equivalent to (my-function v1 v2 ... vM xM+1 xM+2 ... xN)
+```
+
+As a simple example, let's define a function `inc-by-9` which increases by 9, a fixed amount, whatever we pass-in. We could implement such function as follows:
+
+```clojure
+(def inc-by-9 (partial + 9))
+(inc-by-9 5)
+; => 14
+```
+
+As a second example, we have a function `generic-greetings` that uses the name of the person we wish to greet along with initial and final text messages:
+
+```clojure
+(defn generic-greetings
+  [initial-text final-text name]
+  (println (str initial-text name final-text)))
+```
+
+And use `partial` to always use a specific greetings message:
+
+```clojure
+(def say-hello-and-how-are-you-doing 
+  (partial generic-greetings "Hello " ", how are you doing?"))
+(say-hello-and-how-are-you-doing "Mary")
+; => Hello Mary, how are you doing?
+```
+
+## comp
+
+`comp` can be used to create a composition of any number of functions we want to compose. In general, composing `N` functions `f1, f2, ..., fN` means applying those functions in sequential order, passing the ouput of the previous function to the next one. In mathematical notation this is expressed as:
+
+```
+f1 (f2 (... fN(x)))
+```
+
+In clojure, this is equivalent to doing:
+```clojure
+(f1 (f2 (... (fN x))))
+```
+
+By using comp, we can create a new function which performs this composition for us:
+
+```clojure
+(def my-function-composition 
+  (comp f1 f2 ... fN))
+(my-function-composition x)
+; equivalent to
+(f1 (f2 (... (fN x))))
+```
+
+As an example, let's say we want to sum a series of numbers and then multiply the result by 6. We can do so as follows:
+
+
+```clojure
+(def six-times-result-sum 
+  (comp (partial * 6) +))
+(six-times-result-sum 3 2)
+; = ((partial * 6) (+ 3 2))
+; = (* 6 (+ 3 2))
+; = 30
+```
+
+## memoize
+
+`memoize` allows to reuse previously computed results associated with a given input. Given the same input, the *memoized* function returns the same result without having to recompute it again. It takes advantage of the fact that `clojure` functions are, by default, *referentially transparent*: given the same input, they always produce the same output, which makes it possible to reuse previous computations with ease. 
+
+In order to see how this works, let us use a synthetic case where the function sleeps for two seconds before producing the output, so we can easily compare the *computation time* before and after using `memoize`.
+
+```clojure
+(defn my-time-consuming-fn
+    "Original, time-consuming function"
+    [x]
+    (Thread/sleep 2000)
+    (* x 2)
+)
+
+; We measure the time it takes the original function
+(time (my-time-consuming-fn 3))
+; => "Elapsed time: 2007.785622 msecs"
+; => 6
+
+; We define a memoized function
+(def my-memoized-fn 
+  (memoize my-time-consuming-fn) )
+
+; We call the memoized function and measure its execution time. 
+; The first execution actually runs the function, taking
+; similar time as the original.
+(time (my-memoized-fn 3))
+; => "Elapsed time: 2001.364052 msecs"
+; => 6
+
+; Subsequent calls reuse the previous computation, taking less
+; time. Time is further reduced in additional calls.
+(time (my-memoized-fn 3))
+; => "Elapsed time: 1.190291 msecs"
+; => 6
+
+(time (my-memoized-fn 3))
+; => "Elapsed time: 0.043701 msecs"
+; => 6
+
+; Changing the input makes the function be executed, so that
+; we observe a similar computation time as the original 
+(time (my-memoized-fn 4))
+; => "Elapsed time: 2000.29306 msecs"
+; => 8
+
+; Again, repeating the same input will make the 
+; execution be skipped, and the associated output returned
+(time (my-memoized-fn 4))
+; => "Elapsed time: 0.043701 msecs"
+; => 8
+```
+
+## juxt
+
+`juxt` generates a function that applies, in left to right order, the functions passed to it. The result is a vector with the individual results of each function as components of the vector: 
+
+```clojure
+((juxt f g h) x) ; => [(f x) (g x) (h x)]
+```
+
+As a simple example, we generate a function that computes the product of x by successive factors, from 2 to 5:
+```clojure
+((juxt (partial * 2) (partial * 3) (partial * 4) (partial * 5)) 10) ; => [20 30 40 50]
+```

concepts/functions-generating-functions/introduction.md

@@ -0,0 +1,142 @@
+# Introduction
+
+Being a functional language, functions in Clojure are first-class citizens. This means that they can be passed to and generated by other functions just like data. Clojure in particular comes with a rich set of high-order functions that derive new functions based on existing ones. We will explore here four important cases: `partial`, `comp`, `memoize` and `juxt`. These function-generating functions fall into a broader category of higher-order functions, such as `map`, `reduce`, `apply`, `complement`, to name a few, which operate on existing functions.
+
+## partial
+
+In general, given an existing function `my-function`, with parameters `p1, p2, ..., pN` we can fix some of its parameters `p1, p2, ..., pM` to have constant values `v1, v2, ..., vM`. We do so by applying `partial` as follows: `(partial my-function v1 v2 ... vM)`. 
+
+The result is a new function which applies the original one `my-function` by fixing `p1=v1, p2=v2, ..., pM=vM`. Our new function takes as input the remaining parameters `pM+1, pM+2, ..., pN`, whose values have not been indicated when applying `partial`:
+
+```clojure
+(def my-new-function 
+  (partial my-function v1 v2 ... vM))
+(my-new-function xM+1 xM+2 ... xN)
+; => equivalent to (my-function v1 v2 ... vM xM+1 xM+2 ... xN)
+```
+
+As a simple example, let's define a function `inc-by-9` which increases by 9, a fixed amount, whatever we pass-in. We could implement such function as follows:
+
+```clojure
+(def inc-by-9 (partial + 9))
+(inc-by-9 5)
+; => 14
+```
+
+As a second example, we have a function `generic-greetings` that uses the name of the person we wish to greet along with initial and final text messages:
+
+```clojure
+(defn generic-greetings
+  [initial-text final-text name]
+  (println (str initial-text name final-text)))
+```
+
+And use `partial` to always use a specific greetings message:
+
+```clojure
+(def say-hello-and-how-are-you-doing 
+  (partial generic-greetings "Hello " ", how are you doing?"))
+(say-hello-and-how-are-you-doing "Mary")
+; => Hello Mary, how are you doing?
+```
+
+## comp
+
+`comp` can be used to create a composition of any number of functions we want to compose. In general, composing `N` functions `f1, f2, ..., fN` means applying those functions in sequential order, passing the ouput of the previous function to the next one. In mathematical notation this is expressed as:
+
+```
+f1 (f2 (... fN(x)))
+```
+
+In clojure, this is equivalent to doing:
+```clojure
+(f1 (f2 (... (fN x))))
+```
+
+By using comp, we can create a new function which performs this composition for us:
+
+```clojure
+(def my-function-composition 
+  (comp f1 f2 ... fN))
+(my-function-composition x)
+; equivalent to
+(f1 (f2 (... (fN x))))
+```
+
+As an example, let's say we want to sum a series of numbers and then multiply the result by 6. We can do so as follows:
+
+
+```clojure
+(def six-times-result-sum 
+  (comp (partial * 6) +))
+(six-times-result-sum 3 2)
+; = ((partial * 6) (+ 3 2))
+; = (* 6 (+ 3 2))
+; = 30
+```
+
+## memoize
+
+`memoize` allows to reuse previously computed results associated with a given input. Given the same input, the *memoized* function returns the same result without having to recompute it again. It takes advantage of the fact that `clojure` functions are, by default, *referentially transparent*: given the same input, they always produce the same output, which makes it possible to reuse previous computations with ease. 
+
+In order to see how this works, let us use a synthetic case where the function sleeps for two seconds before producing the output, so we can easily compare the *computation time* before and after using `memoize`.
+
+```clojure
+(defn my-time-consuming-fn
+    "Original, time-consuming function"
+    [x]
+    (Thread/sleep 2000)
+    (* x 2)
+)
+
+; We measure the time it takes the original function
+(time (my-time-consuming-fn 3))
+; => "Elapsed time: 2007.785622 msecs"
+; => 6
+
+; We define a memoized function
+(def my-memoized-fn 
+  (memoize my-time-consuming-fn) )
+
+; We call the memoized function and measure its execution time. 
+; The first execution actually runs the function, taking
+; similar time as the original.
+(time (my-memoized-fn 3))
+; => "Elapsed time: 2001.364052 msecs"
+; => 6
+
+; Subsequent calls reuse the previous computation, taking less
+; time. Time is further reduced in additional calls.
+(time (my-memoized-fn 3))
+; => "Elapsed time: 1.190291 msecs"
+; => 6
+
+(time (my-memoized-fn 3))
+; => "Elapsed time: 0.043701 msecs"
+; => 6
+
+; Changing the input makes the function be executed, so that
+; we observe a similar computation time as the original 
+(time (my-memoized-fn 4))
+; => "Elapsed time: 2000.29306 msecs"
+; => 8
+
+; Again, repeating the same input will make the 
+; execution be skipped, and the associated output returned
+(time (my-memoized-fn 4))
+; => "Elapsed time: 0.043701 msecs"
+; => 8
+```
+
+## juxt
+
+`juxt` generates a function that applies, in left to right order, the functions passed to it. The result is a vector with the individual results of each function as components of the vector: 
+
+```clojure
+((juxt f g h) x) ; => [(f x) (g x) (h x)]
+```
+
+As a simple example, we generate a function that computes the product of x by successive factors, from 2 to 5:
+```clojure
+((juxt (partial * 2) (partial * 3) (partial * 4) (partial * 5)) 10) ; => [20 30 40 50]
+```

concepts/functions-generating-functions/links.json

@@ -0,0 +1,26 @@
+[
+  {
+    "url": "https://clojure.github.io/clojure/clojure.core-api.html#clojure.core/partial",
+    "description": "Clojure API: partial"
+  },
+  {
+    "url": "https://clojure.github.io/clojure/clojure.core-api.html#clojure.core/comp",
+    "description": "Clojure API: comp"
+  },
+  {
+    "url": "https://clojure.github.io/clojure/clojure.core-api.html#clojure.core/comp",
+    "description": "Clojure API: comp"
+  },
+  {
+    "url": "https://clojuredocs.org/clojure.core/memoize",
+    "description": "Clojure docs: memoize"
+  },
+  {
+    "url": "https://clojuredocs.org/clojure.core/juxt",
+    "description": "Clojure docs: juxt"
+  },
+  {
+    "url": "https://clojure.org/guides/higher_order_functions",
+    "description": "Clojure guides: Higher Order Functions"
+  }
+]

config.json

@@ -1087,6 +1087,11 @@
       "uuid": "75d16185-4ca9-49d1-969f-3dd6fc377b96",
       "slug": "closures",
       "name": "Closures"
+    },
+    {
+      "uuid": "9d9d7cf1-8504-4f7b-b2a0-1b3b638dc0d9",
+      "slug": "functions-generating-functions",
+      "name": "Functions generating functions"
     }
   ],
   "key_features": [