However, I'm new enough to Haskell that I sometimes have a hard time figuring out what I've done wrong from the error messages.
Any time I get an error message I don't understand, the first thing I do is to try a different compiler/interpreter, to see if it gives a better message.
func x = do data <- readFile x return data
Where the problem is that I've mistakenly used the reserved word 'data' for a name binding. Here's the error message I get for that:
scratch.hs:3: Empty 'do' construct
For instance, nhc98 gives this (hopefully more informative) message for the same error: In file ./scratch.hs: 3:13 Found _data_ but expected one of: <string> <char> <rational> <integer> ( [ <varid> <conid> _case_ _if_ _do_ _let_ \ ` <varop> <conop> ~ _ Regards, Malcolm