F# explicit match vs function syntax

Solution 1:

The pro for the second syntax is that when used in a lambda, it could be a bit more terse and readable.

List.map (fun x -> match x with | 1 -> "one" | _ -> "not one") [0;1;2;3;1]

vs

List.map (function 1 -> "one" | _ -> "not one") [0;1;2;3;1]

Solution 2:

The match version is called a "pattern matching expression". The function version is called a "pattern matching function". Found in section 6.6.4 of the spec.

Using one over the other is a matter of style. I prefer only using the function version when I need to define a function that is only a match statement.