Hi, I disagree with most people on this, since I am in general principle opposed to monads on the grounds that I don't understand them :)
o How important is it that I switch from using the State monad to using arrows? I don't understand either monads or arrows
o How important is it that I switch from using |> or $ to using arrows? |> is pure functional programming. $ is pure functional programming. It just so happens that the idiom you are more used to |> is not the one most functional programmers are used to.
If a solution can be done in a purely functional way, do so. If a function requires monads, use them. If you just want to do entirely functional things in a monadic way then use Java :) Disclaimer: I hate monads, everyone will disagree with me. Thanks Neil