Thanks for the replies...
What I'm trying to do is a simple input system:

query :: IO (Maybe String)
query = do
  putStrLn "Enter text or press q:"
  r <- getLine
  return $ if r == "q" then Nothing else Just r

This will ask an input to the user which is returned, unless "q" is pressed.
I want to repeat this query "some" or "many" times:

main = do
  qs <- some $ query
  -- qs <- many $ query
  putStrLn qs

This should ask the query multiple times until "q" is pressed.
The type of qs is Maybe [String].
The expected result is that with "some", returning zero results will not be permitted, while with "many" it is.

Probably I should defined a newtype for IO Maybe:
data IOMaybe a = IOMaybe {getIOMaybe :: IO (Maybe a)}

And define all the instances.

Or use Data.Fucntor.Compose:
type IOMaybe = Compose IO Maybe



On Thu, Sep 29, 2016 at 11:15 PM, Doaitse Swierstra <doaitse.swierstra@gmail.com> wrote:
The type of the last part of the expression is:

many $ Just 1 :: Num a => Maybe [a]

So in order to be able to return the “Just” constructor which inspected by the application of (take 3 <$>) we have somehow to know for sure that all the <*> executions will indeed see a “Just” in both of their arguments. This forces more and more evaluations.
  
 Doaitse


Op 29 sep. 2016, om 22:28  heeft Jake <jake.waksbaum@gmail.com> het volgende geschreven:

take 3 $ many $ Just 1

doesn't type check. Did you mean this?

take 3 <$> (many $ Just 1)
I think this may have something to do with the default definition of many in the definition of Alternative:
many :: f a -> f [a]
many v = many_v
  where
    many_v = some_v <|> pure []
    some_v = (fmap (:) v) <*> many_v
many_v and some_v are mutually recursive functions, and it may be that this prevents the thunks from being made available to take in some way. I'm really not sure though, this is just an idea about why this is not quite the same as (take $ repeat 1)

On Thu, Sep 29, 2016 at 3:51 PM Corentin Dupont <corentin.dupont@gmail.com> wrote:
Hi guys,
I'm playing with the mysterious "some" and "many" from Control.Applicative.
If I try:

many $ Just 1

It just loops, I understand why:
http://stackoverflow.com/questions/18108608/what-are-alternatives-some-and-many-useful-for
It seems that some and many are usually used in a context where something is consumed, and can be depleted, so the loop ends.

But why doesn't this terminates?

take 3 $ many $ Just 1

It's a recursive call, but the construction of the result should be lazy...

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