Hello Sylvain, and thanks again :)

When adding the forall I can compile the code without a problem.

For the types b1 b2 b3, they are of course not what I want (b must be unique in the context of the question).
But the type for the function with b1, b2 and b3 is what I got when I did not give a type signature to the compiler/interpreter (which is understandable since it has no reason to assume they would be one and the same).

I will try the Functional dependency (though I haven't learned about this yet).

But the main question remains:

"add x y = wrap $ unwrap x + unwrap y" can be compiled/interpreted, and when I ask about its type, the answer is:
":t add"
"add :: (Num a, Newtype a b1, Newtype a b2, Newtype a b3) => b2 -> b3 -> b1"

Then when I add that same type signature, like so:
"add :: (Num a, Newtype a b1, Newtype a b2, Newtype a b3) => b2 -> b3 -> b1
 add x y = wrap $ unwrap x + unwrap y"
the compiler refuses it for ambiguity reasons.

So the question is: How come the compiler does not accept its own type signature? Why had it not refused to compile even without one, and only
upon specification of said signature did the compilation break?

Regards,
Michel :)

On Wed, Apr 10, 2019 at 4:29 PM Sylvain Henry <sylvain@haskus.fr> wrote:


On 10/04/2019 15:29, Michel Haber wrote:
Hello,
Thanks for the answer.
I tried the code you sent, but now I'm getting a "type variable not in score" error. (I added both extensions)
This is the whole code pertaining to this problem (with the extensions mentioned before):

class Newtype a b where
  wrap   :: a -> b
  unwrap :: b -> a

newtype MyInt   = MyInt   Int
newtype YourInt = YourInt Int

instance Newtype Int MyInt where
  wrap = MyInt
  unwrap (MyInt i) = i

instance Newtype Int YourInt where
  wrap = YourInt
  unwrap (YourInt i) = i

add :: (Num a, Newtype a b1, Newtype a b2, Newtype a b3) => b2 -> b3 -> b1
add x y = wrap @a @b1 $ unwrap @a x + unwrap @a y

You need to add the "forall a b1 b2 b3" to be allowed to use "@a" (with ScopedTypeVariables extension).


For further reference, the exercice to which this code should be a solution can be found at:

> c. Write a function that adds together two values of the same type, providing that the type is a newtype around some type with a 'Num' instance.

You only need a single "b" type instead of b1, b2 b3. Also I think you could use a Function Dependency in the "Newtype" definition (because when we know "b" we know "a"). It will make the code of "add' much simpler.


Finally, the question remains: Is it "normal" that ghci behave differently depending on whether
the type signature is declared or not? (Remember that the signature is given by ghci itself)

Finally it is not related to GHCi (we get the same errors/warnings when we compile) but to the AllowAmbiguousTypes extension: https://downloads.haskell.org/~ghc/latest/docs/html/users_guide/glasgow_exts.html?#extension-AllowAmbiguousTypes

The type of "add" is ambiguous according to the definition in the manual.


My advice would be to use a Functional dependency in your definition of NewType and then you can forget about ambiguous types, type applications, scoped type variables, etc. for now. The reported type of "add" by ghci becomes non-ambiguous and everything is well :) (and I guess that it was the point of the exercise)

Regards,
Sylvain



Thanks again,
Michel :)

On Wed, Apr 10, 2019 at 1:28 PM Sylvain Henry <sylvain@haskus.fr> wrote:

Hi,

It looks like an effect of ExtendedDefaultRules: https://downloads.haskell.org/~ghc/latest/docs/html/users_guide/ghci.html#extension-ExtendedDefaultRules

It's hard to tell without the code but maybe something like that will do:

{-# LANGUAGE ScopedTypeVariables #-}
{-# LANGUAGE TypeApplications #-}

add :: forall a b1 b2 b3. (Num a, Newtype a b1, Newtype a b2, Newtype a b3) => b2 -> b3 -> b1
add x y = wrap @a @b1 $ unwrap @a x + unwrap @a y

-Sylvain

On 10/04/2019 12:32, Michel Haber wrote:
Hello Cafe,

I was trying to load a module containing this function in ghci:
"add x y = wrap $ unwrap x + unwrap y"
with the following extensions activated:

ConstraintKinds
DataKinds
DeriveFunctor
DuplicateRecordFields
FlexibleContexts
FlexibleInstances
GADTs
KindSignatures
MultiParamTypeClasses
PolyKinds
TypeFamilies
TypeOperators
AllowAmbiguousTypes

And it loaded without problem.

So then I tested its type with ":t add", which gave:
add :: (Num a, Newtype a b1, Newtype a b2, Newtype a b3) => b2 -> b3 -> b1

Then I added this signature to the function in the module. This caused ghci
to refuse to load it and give the following error:

src/Exercises.hs:55:11: error:
    • Could not deduce (Newtype Integer b1)
        arising from a use of ‘wrap’
      from the context: (Num a, Newtype a b1, Newtype a b2, Newtype a b3)
        bound by the type signature for:
                   add :: forall a b1 b2 b3.
                          (Num a, Newtype a b1, Newtype a b2, Newtype a b3) =>
                          b2 -> b3 -> b1
        at src/Exercises.hs:54:1-74
    • In the expression: wrap $ unwrap x + unwrap y
      In an equation for ‘add’: add x y = wrap $ unwrap x + unwrap y
   |
55 | add x y = wrap $ unwrap x + unwrap y
   |           ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^

src/Exercises.hs:55:18: error:
    • Could not deduce (Newtype Integer b2)
        arising from a use of ‘unwrap’
      from the context: (Num a, Newtype a b1, Newtype a b2, Newtype a b3)
        bound by the type signature for:
                   add :: forall a b1 b2 b3.
                          (Num a, Newtype a b1, Newtype a b2, Newtype a b3) =>
                          b2 -> b3 -> b1
        at src/Exercises.hs:54:1-74
    • In the first argument of ‘(+)’, namely ‘unwrap x’
      In the second argument of ‘($)’, namely ‘unwrap x + unwrap y’
      In the expression: wrap $ unwrap x + unwrap y
   |
55 | add x y = wrap $ unwrap x + unwrap y
   |                  ^^^^^^^^

src/Exercises.hs:55:29: error:
    • Could not deduce (Newtype Integer b3)
        arising from a use of ‘unwrap’
      from the context: (Num a, Newtype a b1, Newtype a b2, Newtype a b3)
        bound by the type signature for:
                   add :: forall a b1 b2 b3.
                          (Num a, Newtype a b1, Newtype a b2, Newtype a b3) =>
                          b2 -> b3 -> b1
        at src/Exercises.hs:54:1-74
    • In the second argument of ‘(+)’, namely ‘unwrap y’
      In the second argument of ‘($)’, namely ‘unwrap x + unwrap y’
      In the expression: wrap $ unwrap x + unwrap y
   |
55 | add x y = wrap $ unwrap x + unwrap y
   |                             ^^^^^^^^
Failed, no modules loaded.

This does not make sense to me, since I only used the signature that ghci itself gave me.

Is this a bug? if not, could someone please explain this behaviour to me?

Thanks,
Michel

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