I'm an extreme newbie to cells and have just begun reviewing the literature so this may be a FAQ, but in general how does cells relate to "functional" programming practice? My first reaction is that is seems antithetical, as it inherently introduces state and eliminates referential transparency. However if one looks at it as a declarative approach in making statements about relations, perhaps not. maybe it can therefore be used in a functional style along the same lines as standard clos/mop, which can also be considered stateful if evaluated at the level of the individual sub protocols etc.
Really my question is "is cells something one should consider if otherwise one has worked hard to achieve functional style practices?" ---- Replace the method the carefully chosen name deletes the comment