Compiler technology for functional languages has reached the point where it is feasible to program some medium to large applications in a purely functional language, and indeed efforts are already underway in many areas. There is much to be learned from using functional languages in real situations — on the one hand, how large functional programs should be designed, and on the other, how existing languages, implementations and tools need to be improved.

Before this background, the workshop brought together users of functional languages in ambitious software projects, and a small group of language designers and implementors. The workshop demonstrated the scope of applications of functional programming to date. Users exchanged their experiences and provided feedback to language designers and implementors. Discussions evaluated the state of the art and outlined central problem areas for the further development of functional programming. The workshop focussed on the following topics:

• Hardware Description and Simulation,
• Real-Time Systems,
• Bioinformatics,
• Communication Protocols,
• Scientific Computing,
• Programming Languages and Systems,
• Software Tools,
• Prototyping,
• User Interfaces.

Besides the presentation of applications, there were reports on recent developments in functional language implementations (SML, Haskell, Clean). An evening discussion on “Functional Programming in Education” revealed that functional languages are about to become an important vehicle for teaching computer science — no longer restricted to introductory programming courses, or functional programming per se. A more comprehensive summary of this workshop is planned to appear in the Journal of Functional Programming.

The workshop was generally perceived by the participants as an outstanding opportunity for exchange of ideas and experiences. A number of spontaneous experiments were performed cooperatively, using the Dagstuhl computing facilities. We are especially grateful to the Dagstuhl team for their professional support for planning and conducting the workshop.