Haskell Cheat Sheet

This cheat sheet lays out the fundamental elements

of the Haskell language: syntax, keywords and
other elements. It is presented as both an executable Haskell file and a printable document.
Load the source into your favorite interpreter to
play with code samples shown.

Syntax
Below the most basic syntax for Haskell is given.

Strings

Enumerations

[1..10] List of numbers 1, 2, . . ., 10.

[100..] Infinite list of numbers 100, 101,
102, . . . .
Multi-line Strings
Normally, it is syntax error if [110..100] Empty list; ranges only go forwards.
a string has any actual new line characters. That is, [0, -1 ..] Negative integers.
this is a syntax error:
[-100..-110] Syntax error; need [-100.. -110]
for negatives.
string1 = "My long
[1,3..100], [-1,3..100] List from 1 to 100 by
string."
2, -1 to 100 by 4.
"abc" Unicode string.
'a' Single character.

However, backslashes (\) can be used to escape

In fact, any value which is in the Enum class can be
around the new line:
used. E.g.,:

['a' .. 'z'] List of characters a, b, . . ., z.

[1.0, 1.5 .. 2] [1.0,1.5,2.0].
Comments
[UppercaseLetter ..] List of GeneralCategory
A single line comment starts with -- and extends The area between the backslashes is ignored. An values (from Data.Char).
to the end of the line. Multi-line comments start important note is that new lines in the string must
with {- and extend to -}. Comments can be still be represented explicitly:
Lists & Tuples
nested.
[] Empty list.
string2 = "My long \n\
Comments above function definitions should
[1,2,3] List of three numbers.
\string."
start with {- | and those next to parameter types
1 : 2 : 3 : [] Alternate way to write lists uswith -- ^ for compatibility with Haddock, a sysThat
is,
string1
evaluates
to:
ing cons (:) and nil ([]).
tem for documenting Haskell code.
"abc" List of three characters (strings are lists).
My long string.
'a' : 'b' : 'c' : [] List of characters (same
Reserved Words
as "abc").
While string2 evaluates to:
(1,"a") 2-element tuple of a number and a string.
The following lists the reserved words defined by
(head, tail, 3, 'a') 4-element tuple of two
Haskell. It is a syntax error to give a variable or
My long
functions, a number and a character.
function one of these names.
string.
string1 = "My long \
\string."

case, class, data, deriving, do,

else, if, import, in, infix, infixl,
infixr, instance, let, of, module,
newtype, then, type, where
c 2008 Justin Bailey.

Layout rule, braces and semi-colons.

Numbers
1 - Integer
1.0, 1e10 - Floating point

Haskell can be written using braces and semicolons, just like C. However, no one does. Instead,
the layout rule is used, where spaces represent

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case ch of
scope. The general rule is always indent. When As can be seen above, the in keyword must also be
Nothing -> "No choice!"
in the same column as let. Finally, when multiple
the compiler complains, indent more.
Just (First _) -> "First!"
defintions are given, all identifiers must appear in
Braces and semi-colons
Semi-colons terminate
Just Second -> "Second!"
the same column.
an expression, and braces represent scope. They
_ -> "Something else."
can be used after several keywords: where, let, do
and of. They cannot be used when defining a func- Keywords
We can use argument capture to display the value
tion body. For example, the below will not compile.
matched if we wish:
Haskell keywords are listed below, in alphabetical
square2 x = { x * x; }
anyChoice2 ch =
order.
case ch of
However, this will work fine:
Nothing -> "No choice!"
Case
square2 x = result
Just score@(First "gold") ->
where { result = x * x; }
"First with gold!"
case is similar to a switch statement in C# or Java,
Just score@(First _) ->
but can take action based on any possible value for
Function Definition
Indent the body at least the type of the value being inspected. Consider a
"First with something else: "
one space from the function name:
++ show score
simple data type such as the following:
_ -> "Not first."
square x =
data Choices = First String | Second |
x * x
Third | Fourth
Matching Order
Matching proceeds from top to
bottom. If we re-wrote anyChoice1 as below, well
Unless a where clause is present. In that case, incase can be used to determine which choice was
never know what choice was actually given because
dent the where clause at least one space from the
given:
the first pattern will always succeed:
function name and any function bodies at least one
space from the where keyword:
whichChoice ch =
anyChoice3 ch =
case
ch
of
case ch of
square x =
First
_
->
"1st!"
_ -> "Something else."
x2
Second -> "2nd!"
Nothing -> "No choice!"
where x2 =
_
->
"Something
else."
Just (First _) -> "First!"
x * x
Just Second -> "Second!"
As with pattern-matching in function definitions,
Let
Indent the body of the let at least one space
the _ character is a wildcard and matches any
Guards
Guards, or conditional matches, can be
from the first definition in the let. If let appears
value.
used in cases just like function definitions. The only
on its own line, the body of any defintion must apNesting & Capture
Nested matching and argu- difference is the use of the -> instead of =. Here
pear in the column after the let:
ment capture are also allowed. Referring to the is a simple function which does a case-insensitive
square x =
definition of Maybe below, we can determine if any string match:
let x2 =
choice was given using a nested match:
strcmp [] [] = True
x * x
strcmp s1 s2 = case (s1, s2) of
anyChoice1 ch =
in x2
c 2008 Justin Bailey.

jgbailey@codeslower.com

(s1:ss1, s2:ss2)
| toUpper s1 == toUpper s2 ->
strcmp ss1 ss2
| otherwise -> False
_ -> False

Class
A Haskell function is defined to work on a certain
type or set of types and cannot be defined more
than once. Most languages support the idea of
overloading, where a function can have different
behavior depending on the type of its arguments.
Haskell accomplishes overloading through class
and instance declarations. A class defines one
or more functions that can be applied to any types
which are members (i.e., instances) of that class. A
class is analagous to an interface in Java or C, and
instances to a concrete implementation of the interface.
A class must be declared with one or more type
variables. Technically, Haskell 98 only allows one
type variable, but most implementations of Haskell
support so-called multi-parameter type classes, which
allow more than one type variable.
We can define a class which supplies a flavor for
a given type:

class Flavor a where

flavor :: a -> String

instance Flavor Char where

flavor _ = "sour"
Evaluating flavor True gives:

> flavor True

"sweet"
While flavor 'x' gives:

Constructors with Arguments

The type above
is not very interesting except as an enumeration.
Constructors that take arguments can be declared,
allowing more information to be stored with your
type:

data Point = TwoD Int Int

| ThreeD Int Int Int

> flavor 'x'

"sour"

Notice that the arguments for each constructor are

type names, not constructors. That means this kind
Defaults
Default implementations can be given for func- of declaration is illegal:
tions in a class. These are useful when certain funcdata Poly = Triangle TwoD TwoD TwoD
tions can be defined in terms of others in the class.
A default is defined by giving a body to one of the instead, the Point type must be used:
member functions. The canonical example is Eq,
data Poly = Triangle Point Point Point
which can defined /= (not equal) in terms of ==. :
Type and Constructor Names
Type and conclass Eq a where
structor names can be the same, because they will
(==) :: a -> a -> Bool
never be used in a place that would cause confu(/=) :: a -> a -> Bool
sion. For example:
(/=) a b = not (a == b)
data User = User String | Admin String
In fact, recursive definitions can be created, but one which declares a type named User with two conclass member must always be implemented by any structors, User and Admin. Using this type in a
instance declarations.
function makes the difference clear:

whatUser (User _) = "normal user."

whatUser (Admin _) = "admin user."

Data

Notice that the declaration only gives the type sig- So-called algebraic data types can be declared as folnature of the function - no implementation is given lows:
here (with some exceptions, see Defaults below).
data MyType = MyValue1 | MyValue2
Continuing, we can define several instances:
MyType is the types name.
MyValue1 and
MyValue are values of the type and are called coninstance Flavor Bool where
structors. Multiple constructors are separated with
flavor _ = "sweet"
c 2008 Justin Bailey.

the | character. Note that type and constructor

names must start with a capital letter. It is a syntax
error otherwise.

Some literature refers to this practice as type punning.

Type Variables
Declaring so-called polymorphic
data types is as easy as adding type variables in the
declaration:

data Slot1 a = Slot1 a | Empty1

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This declares a type Slot1 with two constructors,

Slot1 and Empty1. The Slot1 constructor can take
an argument of any type, which is reprented by the
type variable a above.
We can also mix type variables and specific
types in constructors:

data Alarm = Soft | Loud | Deafening

If whichCon is called with a Noncon value, a runtime
deriving (Read, Show)
error will occur.
Finally, as explained elsewhere, these names
can be used for pattern matching, argument cap- It is a syntax error to specify deriving for any other
classes besides the six given above.
ture and updating.

Class Constraints
Data types can be declared
with class constraints on the type variables, but
data Slot2 a = Slot2 a Int | Empty2
this practice is generally discouraged. It is generAbove, the Slot2 constructor can take a value of ally better to hide the raw data constructors using the module system and instead export smart
any type and an Int value.
constructors which apply appropriate constraints.
Record Syntax
Constructor arguments can be
In any case, the syntax used is:
declared either positionally, as above, or using
record syntax, which gives a name to each argudata (Num a) => SomeNumber a = Two a a
ment. For example, here we declare a Contact type
| Three a a a
with names for appropriate arguments:
This declares a type SomeNumber which has one
data Contact = Contact { ctName :: String type variable argument. Valid types are those in
the Num class.
, ctEmail :: String
, ctPhone :: String }
Deriving
Many types have common operations
These names are referred to as selector or accessor
functions and are just that, functions. They must
start with a lowercase letter or underscore and cannot have the same name as another function in
scope. Thus the ct prefix on each above. Multiple constructors (of the same type) can use the
same accessor function for values of the same type,
but that can be dangerous if the accessor is not used
by all constructors. Consider this rather contrived
example:

data Con = Con { conValue :: String }

| Uncon { conValue :: String }
| Noncon
whichCon con = "convalue is " ++
conValue con
c 2008 Justin Bailey.

Deriving
See the section on deriving under the data keyword above.

Do
The do keyword indicates that the code to follow
will be in a monadic context. Statements are separated by newlines, assignment is indicated by <-,
and a let form is introduce which does not require
the in keyword.

If and IO
if is tricky when used with IO.
Conceptually it is are no different, but intuitively
which are tediuos to define yet very necessary, such it is hard to deal with. Consider the function
as the ability to convert to and from strings, com- doesFileExists from System.Directory:
pare for equality, or order in a sequence. These
capabilities are defined as typeclasses in Haskell.
doesFileExist :: FilePath -> IO Bool
Because seven of these operations are so common, Haskell provides the deriving keyword The if statement has this signature:
which will automatically implement the typeclass
if-then-else :: Bool -> a -> a -> a
on the associated type. The seven supported typeclasses are: Eq, Read, Show, Ord, Enum, Ix, and
That is, it takes a Bool value and evaluates to some
Bounded.
other value based on the condition. From the type
Two forms of deriving are possible. The first is
signatures it is clear that doesFileExist cannot be
used when a type only derives on class:
used directly by if:

data Priority = Low | Medium | High

deriving Show
The second is used when multiple classes are derived:
4

wrong fileName =
if doesFileExist fileName
then ...
else ...
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That is, doesFileExist results in an IO Bool value,

while if wants a Bool value. Instead, the correct
value must be extracted by running the IO action:

right1 fileName = do
exists <- doesFileExist fileName
if exists
then return 1
else return 0
Notice the use of return, too. Because do puts us
inside the IO monad, we cant get out except
through return. Note that we dont have to use
if inline here - we can also use let to evaluate the
condition and get a value first:

right2 fileName = do
exists <- doesFileExist fileName
let result =
if exists
then 1
else 0
return result

else
-- multiple statements require
-- a new 'do'.
do
f <- readFile args
putStrLn ("The file is " ++
show (length f)
++ " bytes long.")
And one with case:

countBytes2 =
do
putStrLn "Enter a filename."
args <- getLine
case args of
[] -> putStrLn "No args given."
file -> do
f <- readFile file
putStrLn ("The file is " ++
show (length f)
++ " bytes long.")

Export
See the section on module below.

If, Then, Else

Remember, if always returns a value. It is an
expression, not just a control flow statement. This
function tests if the string given starts with a lower
case letter and, if so, converts it to upper case:

-- Use pattern-matching to
-- get first character
sentenceCase (s:rest) =
if isLower s
then toUpper s : rest
else s : rest
-- Anything else is empty string
sentenceCase _ = []

Import

An alternative is to provide semi-colons and braces.

See the section on module below.
Again, notice where return is. We dont put it in A do is still required, but no indenting is needed.
the let statement. Instead we use it once at the end The below shows a case example but it applies to
if as well:
of the function.
In
Multiple dos
When using do with if or case,
another do is required if either branch has multiple
statements. An example with if:

countBytes1 f =
do
putStrLn "Enter a filename."
args <- getLine
if length args == 0
-- no 'do'.
then putStrLn "No filename given."
c 2008 Justin Bailey.

countBytes3 =
do
putStrLn "Enter a filename."
args <- getLine
case args of
[] -> putStrLn "No args given."
file -> do { f <- readFile file;
putStrLn ("The file is " ++
show (length f)
++ " bytes long."); }
5

See let.

Infix, infixl and infixr

See the section on operators below.

Instance
See the section on class above.

jgbailey@codeslower.com

in "Initial three characters are: " ++

show a ++ ", " ++
show b ++ ", and " ++
show c

Let

Local functions can be defined within a function using let. let is always followed by in. in must appear in the same column as the let keyword. Functions defined have access to all other functions and Note that this is different than the following, which
variables within the same scope (including those only works if the string has three characters:
defined by let). In this example, mult multiplies
onlyThree str =
its argument n by x, which was passed to the origlet (a:b:c) = str
inal multiples. mult is used by map to give the
in "The characters given are: " ++
multiples of x up to 10:
show a ++ ", " ++ show b ++
", and " ++ show c
multiples x =

let mult n = n * x
in map mult [1..10]

let functions with no arguments are actually

constants and, once evaluated, will not evaluate
again. This is useful for capturing common portions of your function and re-using them. Here is a
silly example which gives the sum of a list of numbers, their average, and their median:
listStats m =
let numbers = [1,3 .. m]
total = sum numbers
mid = head (take (m `div` 2)
numbers)
in "total: " ++ show total ++
", mid: " ++ show mid
Deconstruction
The left-hand side of a let definition can also deconstruct its argument, in case
sub-components are going to be accessed. This definition would extract the first three characters from
a string

firstThree str =
let (a:b:c:_) = str
c 2008 Justin Bailey.

Of

Imports
The Haskell standard libraries are divided into a number of modules. The functionality
provided by those libraries is accessed by importing into your source file. To import all everything
exported by a library, just use the module name:

import Text.Read
Everything means everything: functions, data types
and constructors, class declarations, and even other
modules imported and then exported by the that
module. Importing selectively is accomplished by
giving a list of names to import. For example, here
we import some functions from Text.Read:

import Text.Read (readParen, lex)

See the section on case above.

Data types can imported in a number of ways. We

can just import the type and no constructors:

Module

import Text.Read (Lexeme)

A module is a compilation unit which exports funcOf course, this prevents our module from patterntions, types, classes, instances, and other modules.
matching on the values of type Lexeme. We can
A module can only be defined in one file, though
import one or more constructors explicitly:
its exports may come from multiple sources. To
make a Haskell file a module, just add a module
import Text.Read (Lexeme(Ident, Symbol))
declaration at the top:
All constructors for a given type can also be immodule MyModule where
ported:
Module names must start with a capital letter but
otherwise can include periods, numbers and underscores. Periods are used to give sense of structure, and Haskell compilers will use them as indications of the directory a particular source file is,
but otherwise they have no meaning.
The Haskell community has standardized a set
of top-level module names such as Data, System,
Network, etc. Be sure to consult them for an appropriate place for your own module if you plan on
releasing it to the public.
6

import Text.Read (Lexeme(..))

We can also import types and classes defined in the
module:

import Text.Read (Read, ReadS)

In the case of classes, we can import the functions
defined for the using syntax similar to importing
constructors for data types:

import Text.Read (Read(readsPrec

, readList))
jgbailey@codeslower.com

Note that, unlike data types, all class functions are A second form does not create an alias. Instead,
imported unless explicitly excluded. To only import the prefix becomes the module name. We can write
a simple function to check if a string is all upper
the class, we use this syntax:
case:
import Text.Read (Read())
import qualified Char

A module can even re-export itself, which can be

useful when all local definitions and a given imported module are to be exported. Below we export
ourselves and Data.Set, but not Data.Char:

module AnotherBigModule (module Data.Set

, module AnotherBigModule)
where

allUpper str =
Exclusions
If most, but not all, names are going
all Char.isUpper str
to imported from a module, it would be tedious to
specify all those names except a few. For that reaimport Data.Set
Except for the prefix specified, qualified imports
son, imports can also be specified via the hiding
import Data.Char
support the same syntax as normal imports. The
keyword:
name imported can be limited in the same ways as
described above.
Newtype
import Data.Char hiding (isControl
, isMark)

Except for instance declarations, any type, function,

constructor or class can be hidden.
Instance Declarations
It must be noted that
instance declarations cannot be excluded from import. Any instance declarations in a module will
be imported when the module is imported.

Exports
If an export list is not provided, then all
functions, types, constructors, etc. will be available
to anyone importing the module. Note that any imported modules are not exported in this case. Limiting the names exported is accomplished by adding
a parenthesized list of names before the where keyword:

module MyModule (MyType

, MyClass
, myFunc1
...)
where

Qualified Imports
The names exported by a
module (i.e., functions, types, operators, etc.) can
have a prefix attached through qualified imports.
This is particularly useful for modules which have
a large number of functions having the same name The same syntax as used for importing can be used
as Prelude functions. Data.Set is a good example: here to specify which functions, types, constructors, and classes are exported, with a few differimport qualified Data.Set as Set
ences. If a module imports another module, it can
also export that module:
This form requires any function, type, constructor
module MyBigModule (module Data.Set
or other name exported by Data.Set to now be pre, module Data.Char)
fixed with the alias (i.e., Set) given. Here is one way
where
to remove all duplicates from a list:

removeDups a =
Set.toList (Set.fromList a)
c 2008 Justin Bailey.

While data introduces new values and type just

creates synonyms, newtype falls somewhere between. The syntax for newtype is quite restricted
only one constructor can be defined, and that constructor can only take one argument. Continuing
the example above, we can define a Phone type like
the following:

newtype Home = H String

newtype Work = W String
data Phone = Phone Home Work
As opposed to type, the H and W values on
Phone are not just String values. The typechecker
treats them as entirely new types. That means our
lowerName function from above would not compile.
The following produces a type error:

lPhone (Phone hm wk) =

Phone (lower hm) (lower wk)
Instead, we must use pattern-matching to get to the
values to which we apply lower:

lPhone (Phone (H hm) (W wk)) =

Phone (H (lower hm)) (W (lower wk))

import Data.Set
import Data.Char
7

jgbailey@codeslower.com

The key observation is that this keyword does not Because type introduces a synonym, type checking
introduce a new value; instead it introduces a new is not affected in any way. The function lower, defined as:
type. This gives us two very useful properties:

lower s = map toLower s

No runtime cost is associated with the new
type, since it does not actually produce new
which has the type
values. In other words, newtypes are absolutely free!
lower :: String -> String
The type-checker is able to enforce that common types such as Int or String are used in
restricted ways, specified by the programmer.

strlen [] = result
where result = "No string given!"
strlen f = result ++ " characters long!"
where result = show (length f)

Where vs. Let

A where clause can only be defined at the level of a function definition. Usually,
that is identical to the scope of let definition. The
only difference is when guards are being used. The
can be used on values with the type FirstName or
scope of the where clause extends over all guards.
LastName just as easily:
In contrast, the scope of a let expression is only
the current function clause and guard, if any.
lName (Person f l ) =
Person (lower f) (lower l)

Finally, it should be noted that any deriving

clause which can be attached to a data declaration
Because type is just a synonym, it cant declare Declarations, Etc.
can also be used when declaring a newtype.
multiple constructors like data can. Type variables
The following section details rules on function deccan be used, but there cannot be more than the
Return
larations, list comprehensions, and other areas of
type variables declared with the original type. That
the language.
See do above.
means a synonmym like the following is possible:

Type

type NotSure a = Maybe a

Function Definition

Functions are defined by declaring their name, any

but this not:
This keyword defines a type synonym (i.e., alias).
arguments, and an equals sign:
This keyword does not define a new type, like data
type NotSure a b = Maybe a
or newtype. It is useful for documenting code but
square x = x * x
otherwise has no effect on the actual type of a given Note that fewer type variables can be used, which
All functions names must start with a lowercase letfunction or value. For example, a Person data type useful in certain instances.
ter or _. It is a syntax error otherwise.
could be defined as:
Pattern Matching
Multiple clauses of a funcWhere
data Person = Person String String
tion can be defined by pattern-matching on the
Similar to let, where defines local functions and
values of arguments. Here, the the agree function
where the first constructor argument represents
constants. The scope of a where definition is the
has four separate cases:
their first name and the second their last. Howcurrent function. If a function is broken into multiever, the order and meaning of the two arguments
-- Matches when the string "y" is given.
ple definitions through pattern-matching, then the
is not very clear. A type declaration can help:
agree1 "y" = "Great!"
scope of a particular where clause only applies to
-- Matches when the string "n" is given.
that definition. For example, the function result
type FirstName = String
type LastName = String
below has a different meaning depending on the
agree1 "n" = "Too bad."
data Person = Person FirstName LastName
arguments given to the function strlen:
-- Matches when string beginning
c 2008 Justin Bailey.

jgbailey@codeslower.com

-- with 'y' given.

agree1 ('y':_) = "YAHOO!"
-- Matches for any other value given.
agree1 _ = "SO SAD."

isEven 0 = True
isEven 1 = False
isEven (n + 2) = isEven n

Matching & Guard Order

Pattern-matching
proceeds in top to bottom order. Similary, guard
expressions are tested from top to bottom. For example, neither of these functions would be very inArgument capture is useful teresting:
Note that the _ character is a wildcard and Argument Capture
for pattern-matching a value AND using it, withmatches any value.
allEmpty _ = False
Pattern matching can extend to nested values. out declaring an extra variable. Use an @ symbol
allEmpty [] = True
in between the pattern to match and the variable to
Assuming this data declaration:
assign the value to. This facility is used below to
alwaysEven n
data Bar = Bil (Maybe Int) | Baz
capture the head of the list in l for display, while
| otherwise = False
also capturing the entire list in ls in order to comand recalling Maybe is defined as:
| n `div` 2 == 0 = True
pute its length:
data Maybe a = Just a | Nothing
we can match on nested Maybe values when Bil is
present:

f (Bil (Just _)) = ...

f (Bil Nothing) = ...
f Baz = ...

len ls@(l:_) = "List starts with " ++

show l ++ " and is " ++
show (length ls) ++ " items long."
len [] = "List is empty!"

Guards
Boolean functions can be used as
Pattern-matching also allows values to be assigned guards in function definitions along with pattern
to variables. For example, this function determines matching. An example without pattern matching:
if the string given is empty or not. If not, the value
which n
captures in str is converted to to lower case:
| n == 0 = "zero!"
toLowerStr [] = []
| even n = "even!"
toLowerStr str = map toLower str
| otherwise = "odd!"
In reality, str is the same as _ in that it will match
Notice otherwise it always evaulates to true and
anything, except the value matched is also given a
can be used to specify a default branch.
name.
Guards can be used with patterns. Here is a
n + k Patterns
This sometimes controversial function that determines if the first character in a
pattern-matching facility makes it easy to match string is upper or lower case:
certain kinds of numeric expressions. The idea
what [] = "empty string!"
is to define a base case (the n portion) with a
what (c:_)
constant number for matching, and then to define
| isUpper c = "upper case!"
other matches (the k portion) as additives to the
| isLower c = "lower case"
base case. Here is a rather inefficient way of testing
| otherwise = "not a letter!"
if a number is even or not:
c 2008 Justin Bailey.

Record Syntax
Normally pattern matching occurs based on the position of arguments in the
value being matched. Types declared with record
syntax, however, can match based on those record
names. Given this data type:

data Color = C { red

, green
, blue :: Int }
we can match on green only:

isGreenZero (C { green = 0 }) = True

isGreenZero _ = False
Argument capture is possible with this syntax,
though it gets clunky. Continuing the above, now
define a Pixel type and a function to replace values
with non-zero green components with all black:

data Pixel = P Color

-- Color value untouched if green is 0
setGreen (P col@(C { green = 0 })) = P col
setGreen _ = P (C 0 0 0)
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ups =
As long as the value x is not actually evaluated,
[c | c <- [minBound .. maxBound]
were safe. None of the base types need to look at x
, isUpper c]
(see the _ matches they use), so things will work
just fine.
Or to find all occurrences of a particular break
One wrinkle with the above is that we must
value br in a list word (indexing from 0):
provide type annotations in the interpreter or the
code when using a Nothing constructor. Nothing
idxs word br =
has type Maybe a but, if not enough other informa[i | (i, c) <- zip [0..] word
tion is available, Haskell must be told what a is.
, c == br]
Some example default values:
class Def a where
A unique feature of list comprehensions is that pat-- Return "Just False"
defValue :: a -> a
tern matching failures do not cause an error - they
defMB = defValue (Nothing :: Maybe Bool) are just excluded from the resulting list.
The idea is you give defValue a value of the right
-- Return "Just ' '"
type and it gives you back a default value for that
defMC = defValue (Nothing :: Maybe Char)
Operators
type. Defining instances for basic types is easy:

Lazy Patterns
This syntax, also known as irrefutable patterns, allows pattern matches which always succeed. That means any clause using the
pattern will succeed, but if it tries to actually use
the matched value an error may occur. This is generally useful when an action should be taken on
the type of a particular value, even if the value isnt
present.
For example, define a class for default values:

instance Def Bool where

defValue _ = False

List Comprehensions

A list comprehension consists of three types of elements - generators, guards, and targets. A list cominstance Def Char where
prehension creates a list of target values based on
defValue _ = ' '
the generators and guards given. This comprehenMaybe is a littler trickier, because we want to get sion generates all squares:
a default value for the type, but the constructor
squares = [x * x | x <- [1..]]
might be Nothing. The following definition would
work, but its not optimal since we get Nothing x <- [1..] generates a list of all Integer values
and puts them in x, one by one. x * x creates each
when Nothing is passed in.
element of the list by multiplying x by itself.
instance Def a => Def (Maybe a) where
Guards allow certain elements to be excluded.
defValue (Just x) = Just (defValue x)
The following shows how divisors for a given numdefValue Nothing = Nothing
ber (excluding itself) can be calculated. Notice how
d is used in both the guard and target expression.
Wed rather get a Just (default value) back instead.
Here is where a lazy pattern saves us we can predivisors n =
tend that weve matched Just x and use that to get
[d | d <- [1..(n `div` 2)]
a default value, even if Nothing is given:
, n `mod` d == 0]

instance Def a => Def (Maybe a) where

defValue ~(Just x) = Just (defValue x)
c 2008 Justin Bailey.

Comprehensions are not limited to numbers. Any

list will do. All upper case letters can be generated:
10

There are very few predefined operators in

Haskell - most that do look predefined are actually syntax (e.g., =). Instead, operators are simply
functions that take two arguments and have special
syntax support. Any so-called operator can be applied as a normal function using parentheses:

3 + 4 == (+) 3 4
To define a new operator, simply define it as a normal function, except the operator appears between
the two arguments. Heres one which takes inserts
a comma between two strings and ensures no extra
spaces appear:

first ## last =
let trim s = dropWhile isSpace
(reverse (dropWhile isSpace
(reverse s)))
in trim last ++ ", " ++ trim first
> " Haskell " ## " Curry "
Curry, Haskell
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Of course, full pattern matching, guards, etc. are The results are surprising:
available in this form. Type signatures are a bit dif> 2 + 3 * 5
ferent, though. The operator name must appear
17
in parenetheses:
> 2 `plus1` 3 `mult1` 5
(##) :: String -> String -> String
25

isL33t _ =
toL33t 'o'
toL33t 'a'
-- etc.
toL33t c =

False
= '0'
= '4'
c

Notice that l33t has no arguments specified. Also,

Allowable symbols which can be used to define op- Reversing associativy also has interesting effects.
the final argument to convertOnly is not given.
erators are:
Redefining division as right associative:
However, the type signature of l33t tells the whole
story:
# $ % & * + . / < = > ? @ \ ^ | - ~
infixr 7 `div1`

div1 a b = a / b
However, there are several operators which cannot be redefined. Those are:
We get interesting results:
<- -> = (by itself )
> 20 / 2 / 2
Precedence & Associativity
The precedence
5.0
and associativity, collectively called fixity, of any
> 20 `div1` 2 `div1` 2
operator can be set through the infix, infixr and
20.0
infixl keywords. These can be applied both to
top-level functions and to local definitions. The
Currying
syntax is:
infix | infixr | infixl precedence op
where precedence varies from 0 to 9. Op can actually be any function which takes two arguments
(i.e., any binary operation). Whether the operator
is left or right associative is specified by infixl or
infixr, respectively. infix declarations have no associativity.
Precedence and associativity make many of the
rules of arithmetic work as expected. For example, consider these minor updates to the precedence of addition and multiplication:

infixl 8 `plus1`
plus1 a b = a + b
infixl 7 `mult1`
mult1 a b = a * b
c 2008 Justin Bailey.

l33t :: String -> String

That is, l33t takes a string and produces a string.

It is a constant, in the sense that l33t always returns a value that is a function which takes a string
and produces a string. l33t returns a curried
form of convertOnly, where only two of its three
arguments have been supplied.
This can be taken further. Say we want to write
a function which only changes upper case letters.
In Haskell, functions do not have to get all of We know the test to apply, isUpper, but we dont
their arguments at once. For example, consider the want to specify the conversion. That function can
convertOnly function, which only converts certain be written as:
elements of string depending on a test:
convertUpper = convertOnly isUpper
convertOnly test change str =
which has the type signature:
map (\c -> if test c
then change c
convertUpper :: (Char -> Char)
else c) str
-> String -> String
Using convertOnly, we can write the l33t function
That is, convertUpper can take two arguments. The
which converts certain letters to numbers:
first is the conversion function which converts individual characters and the second is the string to be
l33t = convertOnly isL33t toL33t
converted.
where
A curried form of any function which takes
isL33t 'o' = True
multiple arguments can be created. One way to
isL33t 'a' = True
think of this is that each arrow in the functions
-- etc.
11

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signature represents a new function which can be The above is a bit verbose and we can rewrite using record syntax. This kind of update only sets
created by supplying one more argument.
values for the field(s) specified and copies the rest:
Sections
Operators are functions, and they can
be curried like any other. For example, a curried
noGreen2 c = c { green = 0 }
version of + can be written as:
Above, we capture the Color value in c and return
add10 = (+) 10
a new Color value. That value happens to have the
same value for red and blue as c and its green
However, this can be unwieldy and hard to read.
component is 0. We can combine this with pattern
Sections are curried operators, using parenthematching to set the green and blue fields to equal
ses. Here is add10 using sections:
the red field:

add10 = (10 +)

makeGrey c@(C { red = r }) =

c { green = r, blue = r }

Of course, lambdas can be the returned from functions too. This classic returns a function which will
then multiply its argument by the one originally
given:

multBy n = \m -> n * m
For example:

> let mult10 = multBy 10

> mult10 10
100

Type Signatures

The supplied argument can be on the right or left,

which indicates what position it should take. This
Haskell supports full type-inference, meaning in
Notice we must use argument capture (c@) to get
is important for operations such as concatenation:
most cases no types have to be written down. Type
the Color value and pattern matching with record
signatures are still useful for at least two reasons.
syntax (C { red = r}) to get the inner red field.
onLeft str = (++ str)
onRight str = (str ++)
Documentation Even if the compiler can figure
Anonymous Functions
out the types of your functions, other proWhich produces quite different results:
grammers or even yourself might not be able
An anonymous function (i.e., a lambda expression
> onLeft "foo" "bar"
to later. Writing the type signatures on all
or lambda for short), is a function without a name.
"barfoo"
top-level functions is considered very good
They can be defined at any time like so:
> onRight "foo" "bar"
form.
"foobar"
\c -> (c, c)
Specialization Typeclasses allow functions with
overloading. For example, a function to
which defines a function which takes an argument
Updating values and record syntax
negate any list of numbers has the signature:
and returns a tuple containing that argument in
Haskell is a pure language and, as such, has no both positions. They are useful for simple funcmutable state. That is, once a value is set it never tions which dont need a name. The following denegateAll :: Num a => [a] -> [a]
changes. Updating is really a copy operation, termines if a string has mixed case (or is all whiteswith new values in the fields that changed. For pace):
However, for efficiency or other reasons you
example, using the Color type defined earlier, we
may only want to allow Int types. You would
mixedCase str =
can write a function that sets the green field to zero
accomplish that wiht a type signature:
all (\c -> isSpace c ||
easily:
isLower c ||
negateAll :: [Int] -> [Int]
noGreen1 (C r _ b) = C r 0 b
isUpper c) str
c 2008 Justin Bailey.

12

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Type signatures can appear on top-level functions and nested let or where definitions. Generally this is useful for documentation, though in
some case you may use it prevent polymorphism.
A type signature is first the name of the item which
will be typed, followed by a ::, followed by the
types. An example of this has already been seen
above.
Type signatures do not need to appear directly
above their implementation. They can be specified
anywhere in the containing module (yes, even below!). Multiple items with the same signature can
also be defined together:

pos, neg :: Int -> Int

...
pos x | x < 0 = negate x
| otherwise = x

Unit
neg y | y > 0 = negate y
| otherwise = y

() unit type and unit value. The value and

type that represents no useful information.

Type Annotations
Sometimes Haskell will not be able to deter- Contributors
mine what type you meant. The classic demonstraMy thanks to those who contributed patches and
tion of this is the show . read problem:
useful suggestions: Cale Gibbard, Stephen Hicks,
Kurt Hutchinson, Adrian Neumann, Markus
canParseInt x = show (read x)
Roberts, Holger Siegel, and Jeff Zaroyko.
Haskell cannot compile that function because it
does not know the type of x. We must limit the
Version
type through an annotation:

canParseInt x = show ((read x) :: Int)

This is version 1.4. The source can be found

at GitHub1 . The latest released version of the
Annotations have a similar syntax as type signa- PDF can be downloaded from Hackage2 . Visit
CodeSlower.com3 for other projects and writings.
tures, except they appear in-line with functions.

1 git://github.com/m4dc4p/cheatsheet.git

2 http://hackage.haskell.org/cgi-bin/hackage-scripts/package/CheatSheet
3 http://blog.codeslower.com

c 2008 Justin Bailey.

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