[Haskell-cafe] Re: A new form of newtype

From: "Richard O'Keefe" Subject: Re: [Haskell-cafe] A new form of newtype

People are now writing EDSLs using Haskell to generate code for all sorts of interesting things.  What if you want to use Haskell as a host for an EDSL targeted at a 24-bit DSP?

*plug* for this specific case, I would use the word24 package, http://hackage.haskell.org/package/word24 which I wrote for a very similar problem. It was surprisingly difficult to get right (N.B. I have only tested the code, not proven it correct). I would have much preferred to let the compiler handle the details.

There may not be MACHINES with 42-bit integers, but that doesn't mean there aren't PROBLEMS that need them. This whole idea of "let the machine dictate the sizes" is precisely what I'm complaining of.

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Sorry, but creating instances of Bounded is what a compiler is for. If I don't write it, I won't wrong it.

I'm pretty sure I don't understand the syntax of your proposal (which is my fault), but I definitely see the usefulness. I'll leave the syntax wrangling for the language lawyers, however. John