May 2016 - Haskell-Cafe

Join a transformer
by Michael Snoyman 11 Apr '18

11 Apr '18

I'm wondering if this pattern exists and has a name. We have the concept of joining a Monad: join :: Monad m => m (m a) -> ma How about joining a monad transformer? joinT :: (Monad m, MonadTrans t) => t (t m) a -> t m a I believe implementing this in terms of MonadTransControl[1] might be possible, but I was wondering if there's an already existing idiom for this. Michael [1] http://haddocks.fpcomplete.com/fp/7.4.2/20130301-40/monad-control/Control-M…

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PatternSignatures (rant)
by Johannes Waldmann 06 Apr '18

06 Apr '18

Dear all, (this is a rant - please ignore) why has "PatternSignatures" been renamed to "ScopedTypeVariables" (in ghc-6.10)? show me the alleged "type variable" in this code: do x :: Int <- [ 1 .. 10 ] ; return $ x^2 and why on earth do I need to use a language extension at all to get to the most basic thing of declarative programming: to declare the type of an identifier? This seriously hurts (me, at least) when teaching Haskell. Thanks - J.W.

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possible bug in latest hackage Elf (Elf-0.27)
by Baojun Wang 18 Feb '17

18 Feb '17

Hi list, with below test program: -- /* test1.c: build with -g -O0 */ include <stdio.h> static const char appmsg[] = "hello, world"; int main(int argc, char* argv[]) { fputs(appmsg, stdout); return 0; } --- elf-test1.hs module Main where import qualified Data.ByteString as B import qualified Data.ByteString.Char8 as C import Control.Monad import Data.Elf testelf = "/tmp/test1" testelfsym = C.pack "appmsg" lookupSymbol1 _ [] = Nothing lookupSymbol1 sym (t:ts) = case (snd (steName t)) of Nothing -> lookupSymbol1 sym ts Just sname -> if sname == sym then Just t else lookupSymbol1 sym ts lookupSymbol _ [] = Nothing lookupSymbol sym (t:ts) = case (lookupSymbol1 sym t) of Nothing -> lookupSymbol sym ts t1 -> t1 test1 elf symtab symbol = mapM_ (print) (elfSections elf) test2 elf symtab symbol = lookupSymbol symbol symtab test3 elf symtab symbol = lookupSymbol symbol symtab >>= \et -> findSymbolDefinition et mainloop elf symtab symbol = -- (test1 elf symtab symbol) >> print (test2 elf symtab symbol) >> print (test3 elf symtab symbol) >> return () main = do contents <- B.readFile testelf let elf = parseElf contents symtab = parseSymbolTables elf mainloop elf symtab testelfsym --- the latest Data.Elf doesn't geive correct output as expected: output will be: Just (EST {steName = (9,Just "appmsg"), steEnclosingSection = Just (ElfSection {elfSectionName = ".fini", elfSectionType = SHT_PROGBITS, elfSectionFlags = [SHF_EXECINSTR,SHF_ALLOC], elfSectionAddr = 4195908, elfSectionSize = 9, elfSectionLink = 0, elfSectionInfo = 0, elfSectionAddrAlign = 4, elfSectionEntSize = 0, elfSectionData = "H\131\236\bH\131\196\b\195"}), steType = STTObject, steBind = STBLocal, steOther = 0, steIndex = SHNIndex 14, steValue = 4195924, steSize = 13}) >From above, you can see the steEnclosingSection is wrong and offset by 1. The *correct* output should be: Just (EST {steName = (9,Just "appmsg"), steEnclosingSection = Just (ElfSection {elfSectionName = ".rodata", elfSectionType = SHT_PROGBITS, elfSectionFlags = [SHF_ALLOC], elfSectionAddr = 4195920, elfSectionSize = 17, elfSectionLink = 0, elfSectionInfo = 0, elfSectionAddrAlign = 4, elfSectionEntSize = 0, elfSectionData = "\SOH\NUL\STX\NULhello, world\NUL"}), steType = STTObject, steBind = STBLocal, steOther = 0, steIndex = SHNIndex 14, steValue = 4195924, steSize = 13}) Just "hello, world\NUL" After check Elf.hs, I found there could be two issues: 1) in sectionByIndex, (SHNIndex) should start from 0, not 1; this cause the steEnclosingSection from my exmaple offset by 1; 2) in findSymbolDefinition, start should substract the sectionAddr (base address). please see below diff for details: -- --- a/Elf.hs 2012-12-04 19:27:51.000000000 -0800 +++ b/Elf.hs 2014-05-14 22:57:01.014498515 -0700 @@ -1,5 +1,5 @@ -- | Data.Elf is a module for parsing a ByteString of an ELF file into an Elf record. -module Data.Elf ( parseElf +module Elf ( parseElf , parseSymbolTables , findSymbolDefinition , Elf(..) @@ -666,12 +666,12 @@ getSymbolTableEntries e s = -- If the size is zero, or the offset larger than the 'elfSectionData', -- then 'Nothing' is returned. findSymbolDefinition :: ElfSymbolTableEntry -> Maybe B.ByteString -findSymbolDefinition e = - let enclosingData = fmap elfSectionData (steEnclosingSection e) - start = fromIntegral (steValue e) +findSymbolDefinition e = steEnclosingSection e >>= \enclosingSection -> + let enclosingData = elfSectionData enclosingSection + start = ( (fromIntegral (steValue e)) - (fromIntegral (elfSectionAddr enclosingSection) ) ) len = fromIntegral (steSize e) - def = fmap (B.take len . B.drop start) enclosingData - in if def == Just B.empty then Nothing else def + def = (B.take len . B.drop start) enclosingData + in if def == B.empty then Nothing else Just def runGetMany :: Get a -> L.ByteString -> [a] runGetMany g bs @@ -712,7 +712,7 @@ getSymbolTableEntry e strtlb = return $ EST (nameIdx,name) sec typ bind other sTlbIdx symVal size sectionByIndex :: Elf -> ElfSectionIndex -> Maybe ElfSection -sectionByIndex e (SHNIndex i) = lookup i . zip [1..] $ (elfSections e) +sectionByIndex e (SHNIndex i) = lookup i . zip [0..] $ (elfSections e) sectionByIndex _ _ = Nothing infoToTypeAndBind :: Word8 -> (ElfSymbolType,ElfSymbolBinding) -- Would you please check above change and update Data.Elf hackage? I cannot find the author from http://hackage.haskell.org/package/elf-0.27 Thanks baojun

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The 13-line example in Text.Megaparsec.Expr
by Jeffrey Brown 24 Sep '16

24 Sep '16

At the bottom of the Hackage documentation for Text.Megaparsec.Expr [1] is a 13-line demonstration program. It includes no import statements. I added the ones I could deduce, which produced this: import Text.Megaparsec import Text.Megaparsec.Expr import Text.Megaparsec.Lexer (symbol,integer) parens = between (symbol "(") (symbol ")") expr = makeExprParser term table <?> "expression" term = parens expr <|> integer <?> "term" table = [ [ prefix "-" negate , prefix "+" id ] , [ postfix "++" (+1) ] , [ binary "*" (*) , binary "/" div ] , [ binary "+" (+) , binary "-" (-) ] ] binary name f = InfixL (reservedOp name >> return f) prefix name f = Prefix (reservedOp name >> return f) postfix name f = Postfix (reservedOp name >> return f) That still won't compile, because GHC does not know what reservedOp means. Does reservedOp refer to something that no longer exists, or have I just not found it? [1] https://hackage.haskell.org/package/megaparsec-4.4.0/docs/Text-Megaparsec-E… -- Jeffrey Benjamin Brown

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Data constructor ‘Minus’ comes from an un-promotable type ‘Ints’
by Nicholls, Mark 15 Sep '16

15 Sep '16

Hello, I clearly don’t really know what I’m doing…but at least I know it…. Here we defined the Naturals…and then attempt to construct the Integers…. > {-# LANGUAGE DataKinds #-} > {-# LANGUAGE ExplicitForAll #-} > {-# LANGUAGE FlexibleContexts #-} > {-# LANGUAGE FlexibleInstances #-} > {-# LANGUAGE GADTs #-} > {-# LANGUAGE MultiParamTypeClasses #-} > {-# LANGUAGE PolyKinds #-} > {-# LANGUAGE StandaloneDeriving #-} > {-# LANGUAGE TypeFamilies #-} > {-# LANGUAGE TypeOperators #-} > {-# LANGUAGE UndecidableInstances #-} > {-# LANGUAGE ScopedTypeVariables #-} > import Prelude hiding (head, tail, (++), (+), replicate) > import qualified Prelude as P naturals > data Nat where > Z :: Nat > S :: Nat -> Nat I can now define + and * and prove things about them…1 * x == x etc….nice..but lets put that on one side. Borrow bits and bobs from singletons > data family Sing (a :: k) Borrow bits and bobs from singletons..i.e. the isomorphic values…my proofs in nat now map to SNat…double nice. > type SNat = (Sing :: Nat -> *) Create the integers by following my nose……(the integers are the equivalence class of pairs of naturals….) i.e. we have “positive” or “negative” or “zero”… > data Ints (a :: Nat) (b :: Nat) where > Minus :: SNat a -> Ints 'Z a > Zero :: Ints 'Z 'Z > Plus :: SNat a -> Ints a 'Z > Ok….this works as a set of values….but…. I can’t prove anything about these because the data constructors for my integers aren’t “promotable”…..so I cant do the same trick I did with Nat. “:k Zero” ….. Data constructor ‘Zero’ comes from an un-promotable type ‘Ints’ In a type in a GHCi command: Zero I’ve tried rejigging this in various futile and ignorant manners….but the bottom line is its…”un-promotable”…..look at the docs, and it says something vague about GADT’s…but that isnt the problem directly. Is there a nifty way around this log jam? (I can start proving things about ‘(Nat,Nat)….but this will soon become a bit clumsy….) Or do I just stop here and wrestle with getting agda installed and lose another few months in the agda-café (which appears to be a very nice place somewhere in finland….hmmmm…I think that’s something different). (I’ve already allegedly descended into cabal hell following my nose with an agda install… setup.exe: The program cpphs version >=1.18.6 && <1.19 is required but the version found at C:\Users\nichom\AppData\Roaming\cabal\bin\cpphs.exe is version 1.19). computer science would be good, if it wasn’t for the computers. CONFIDENTIALITY NOTICE This e-mail (and any attached files) is confidential and protected by copyright (and other intellectual property rights). If you are not the intended recipient please e-mail the sender and then delete the email and any attached files immediately. Any further use or dissemination is prohibited. While MTV Networks Europe has taken steps to ensure that this email and any attachments are virus free, it is your responsibility to ensure that this message and any attachments are virus free and do not affect your systems / data. Communicating by email is not 100% secure and carries risks such as delay, data corruption, non-delivery, wrongful interception and unauthorised amendment. If you communicate with us by e-mail, you acknowledge and assume these risks, and you agree to take appropriate measures to minimise these risks when e-mailing us. MTV Networks International, MTV Networks UK & Ireland, Greenhouse, Nickelodeon Viacom Consumer Products, VBSi, Viacom Brand Solutions International, Be Viacom, Viacom International Media Networks and VIMN and Comedy Central are all trading names of MTV Networks Europe. MTV Networks Europe is a partnership between MTV Networks Europe Inc. and Viacom Networks Europe Inc. Address for service in Great Britain is 17-29 Hawley Crescent, London, NW1 8TT.

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Commutative monads vs Applicative functors
by Ronald Guida 09 Jul '16

09 Jul '16

I have a few questions about commutative monads and applicative functors. >From what I have read about applicative functors, they are weaker than monads because with a monad, I can use the results of a computation to select between alternative future computations and their side effects, whereas with an applicative functor, I can only select between the results of computations, while the structure of those computations and their side effects are fixed in advance. But then there are commutative monads. I'm not exactly sure what a commutative monad is, but my understanding is that in a commutative monad the order of side effects does not matter. This leads me to wonder, are commutative monads still stronger than applicative functors, or are they equivalent? And by the way, what exactly is a commutative monad?

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Testing Msgpack system
by Jonn Mostovoy 16 Jun '16

16 Jun '16

Dear friends, we have a distributed system written in Haskell, consisting of three types of nodes with dozen of instances of each of two types and a central node of the third type. Each node is started by executing a binary which sets up acid-state persistence layer and sockets over which msgpack messages are sent around. It is trivial to write low level functionality quickcheck test suites, which test properties of functions. We would like, however, to have a quickcheck-esque suite which sets up the network, then gets it to an arbitrary valid state (sending correct messages between nodes), then rigorously testing it for three high-level properties: 1. Chaos monkey test (disable random node, see if certain invariants hold); 2. Evil node test (make several nodes work against the system, see if certain properties hold); 3. Rigorous testing of network-wide invariants, if all the nodes operate correctly. The problem we're facing is the following — if we want to inspect state of nodes in Haskell-land, we have to write a huge machinery which emulates every launch of node via thread. There will be bugs in this machinery, so we won't be able to get quality testing information before we fix those; if we want to run things as processes, then the best thing we can do is to inspect either acid-state dbs of each node (it poses resource locking problems and forces us to dump the state on every change, which is undesirable), or make an observer node, which dumps the consensus as Text and then parsing the data into Haskell terms, making decisions about the required properties based on that (so far, it feels like the best option). Am I missing something? How is something like this achieved in culture? How would you approach such a problem? Links to source files of test suites which do something similar are highly appreciated.

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Re: [Haskell-cafe] Is there any way to use somethig like global backtrack with parsec
by Erik Rantapaa 01 Jun '16

01 Jun '16

If don't have to use Parsec, you can use a parser library like ReadP / ReadS. For example: import Text.ParserCombinators.ReadP abc = (choice [ string "a", string "ab" ] ) >> char 'c' >> eof run p s = case (readP_to_S p) s of [] -> Left "no parse" ((a,_):_) -> Right a test1 = run abc "ac" test2 = run abc "abc" test3 = run abc "ab" -- should fail On Monday, May 30, 2016 at 1:15:25 PM UTC-5, Petr Sokolov wrote: > > For example this parser doesn't parse "abc" > > test :: Parser String > test = ((try $ string "a") <|> (string "ab")) *> (string "c") > > I can rewrite it so it would parse "abc", but is there any general > approach to force parser to return and try other branches? > > (try a <|> b) *> c > > Something like > > (tryOtherBranchesIfFail (try a <|> b)) *> c > > So if it cannot parse "abc" with (try a *> c) it could return and try (b > *> c) > Or it isn't possible? > >

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SIGPLAN Programming Languages Mentoring Workshop @ ICFP
by Lindsey Kuper 31 May '16

31 May '16

SIGPLAN Programming Languages Mentoring Workshop @ ICFP Nara, Japan (co-located with ICFP 2016) Sunday, September 18th, 2016 http://conf.researchr.org/track/icfp-2016/PLMW-ICFP-2016/ We are pleased to invite students interested in functional programming research to the programming languages mentoring workshop at ICFP. The goal of this workshop is to introduce senior undergraduate and early graduate students to research topics in functional programming as well as provide career mentoring advice. We have recruited leaders from the functional programming community to provide overviews of current research topics and give students valuable advice about how to thrive in graduate school, search for a job, and cultivate habits and skills that will help them in research careers. This workshop is part of the activities surrounding ICFP, the International Conference on Functional Programming, and takes place the day before the main conference. One goal of the workshop is to make the ICFP conference more accessible to newcomers and we hope participants will stay through the entire conference. Through the generous donation of our sponsors, we are able to provide travel scholarships to fund student participation. These travel scholarships will cover reasonable travel expenses (airfare and hotel) for attendance at both the workshop and the main three days of the ICFP conference. The workshop is open to all. Students with alternative sources of funding for their travel and registration fees are welcome. In particular, many student attendance programs provide full or partial travel funding for students to attend ICFP 2016, including the ACM Student Research Competition. More information about student attendance programs at ICFP is available: http://conf.researchr.org/home/icfp-2016 Application for Travel Support: The travel funding application is available from the PLMW webpage. The deadline for full consideration of funding is July 1st, 2016. Selected participants will be notified by July 15th. Organizers: Amal Ahmed, Northeastern University Robby Findler, Northwestern University Atsushi Igarashi, Kyoto University

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Does the GHC GC handle const application?
by David Feuer 31 May '16

31 May '16

If I create a thunk representing const x y will the garbage collector be sure to replace this with x? I'm just wondering if I have to be concerned about the fact that Data.Sequence defines update in terms of adjust, with update x = adjust (const x)

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