CS101: Functional Foundations with Elixir

Focus

Shift from imperative and object-oriented thinking to a functional programming mindset.

This course builds the mental models required to work with:

• immutable data
• pattern matching
• recursive problem solving

What This Course Is About

Most developers are used to:

• changing variables
• mutating state
• relying on loops

In functional programming, we approach problems differently:

• data does not change
• functions transform data
• control flow is expressed through pattern matching and recursion

This course helps you internalize that shift.

Topics Covered

• Immutability and bindings
• Pattern matching
• Recursion vs iteration
• Data transformation pipelines

Weeks

• Week 1: Functional Mindset & Immutability
  Understanding why functional programming exists and how immutability changes the way we think about state.

• Week 2: Recursion & Data Processing
  Learning how to process lists and structures using recursion instead of loops.

• Week 3: Pattern Matching & Control Flow
  Using pattern matching and guards to write expressive and safe logic.