Programming style (or: too clever by half?)

I just spotted a possible idiom for something that seems to pop up from time to time: foldr const But I can't help feeling that this code is perversely obscure. Does it have any advantages over the more obvious form suggested below? [[ headOrSomething = foldr const headOrSomething1 _ (x:_) = x headOrSomething1 x [] = x h = headOrSomething -- h = headOrSomething1 test1 = h 0 [1,2,3] == 1 test2 = h 0 [] == 0 test3 = h 0 (repeat 42) == 42 ]] This suggests, e.g., an alternative coding of Maybe.listToMaybe: [[ altListToMaybe = foldr (const . Just) Nothing ]] Opinions? #g ------------ Graham Klyne For email: http://www.ninebynine.org/#Contact