Message: 7 Date: Mon, 14 Jun 2010 20:33:30 +0100 From: Andrew Coppin Subject: Re: [Haskell-cafe] learning advanced haskell To: haskell-cafe@haskell.org Message-ID: <4C16840A.7060700@btinternet.com> Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed

John Lato wrote:

...

However, there's a lot to be said for both intellectual curiosity and learning for the sake of knowledge. Just because you may never need to use a feature doesn't mean you shouldn't be able to understand it.

There is that. However, in my experience, most of the advanced techniques tend to be described in language beyond my comprehension. (And most examples seem overly complex - although maybe that's just a reflection of the fact that simple problems don't require sophisticated techniques in the first place.) Having a specific problem to solve can be quite helpful. Unlike an example, you already understand what the problem is, and why it can't easily be solved any other way.

Yes, having a specific problem to solve can be very helpful. The OP requested examples of them. I'd like to see them myself, partially as a reference but mostly to satisfy my own curiosity. More examples please! John