Tessa Kelly

Elegant data structures are different across programming languages, and creating them should be approached differently. Leverage Elm’s union types to build simple and readable structures, beginning with binary trees.

Writing a binary tree might be a familiar task in JavaScript or Ruby, and it might seem like a very similar problem in Elm. While it’s possible to create data structures in Elm that are very similar to ones written in languages that aren’t strictly functional and that don’t have types, there are better approaches. This talk will explore a few different implementations and recommendations, and assumes an audience without extensive academic ML-family language experience.

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As a software engineer at NoRedInk, Tessa reads, writes, and extends a lot of Elm code. Before joining NoRedInk, Tessa spent her time thinking about curricula, learning, and engagement in the context of teaching web development. She holds a BA in Mathematics from New York University, where she also minored in History and in Middle Eastern Studies.