Hi Vimal
I didnt want to repeat that mistake, so I made sure I would learn IO in Haskell, which initially turned out to be a disaster, due to the 'Moands' which sounded like 'Go Mads' to me.
Then, I set out to learn Monads + Category Theory from a Math perspective. And since I haven't been introduced to abstract math (like Groups, etc.), I found this a little difficult. However I tried my best to understand the tiniest bit and waited for the tiniest spark that would enlighten me. It didn't work out.
In my opinion (other may think differently) it is not a good idea to learn IO by starting with trying to grasp the theoretical foundation for monads. In the beginning you should just view the IO monad as Haskell's way of doing imperative IO stuff. When you feel comfortable with Haskell IO, then try to learn a couple of other monads. Then maybe this article http://sigfpe.blogspot.com/2006/05/grok-haskell-monad-transformers.html about monad transformers. It is good because it do not try to explain the implementation details of monad transformers - just how you use them. When you have done all that, then you should be ready for all the details.
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Okay, so you might be wondering as to whats the whole point of this mail? Well, I am almost on the verge of giving up on something I really like to learn, just because I didn't go in the right order!
So, I requested my institute to buy Dr. Graham Hutton's book. I would be getting hold of that quite soon, and am willing to start from the beginning.
Meanwhile, could anyone suggest if there was anything wrong in my approach to learning Haskell/the other languages? I agree that the learning methodology is something personal and I have to find out what best suits me, but I would like to hear something from you, Haskellers, too.
As I wrote above, I think you are trying to understand too many details at once. Also a textbook can sometimes be helpful. But you also have a learning by doing approach, which I personally find very productive. And do not give up yet. Haskell has a lot to offer and I think it is well worth the steep learning curve. Cheers, Mads Lindstrøm