[GHC] #10607: Auto derive from top to bottom

[GHC]

#10607: Auto derive from top to bottom
-------------------------------------+-------------------------------------
        Reporter:  songzh            |                   Owner:
            Type:  feature request   |                  Status:  new
        Priority:  normal            |               Milestone:
       Component:  Compiler          |                 Version:  7.11
      Resolution:                    |                Keywords:  deriving,
Operating System:  Unknown/Multiple  |  typeclass, auto
 Type of failure:  None/Unknown      |            Architecture:
      Blocked By:                    |  Unknown/Multiple
 Related Tickets:                    |               Test Case:
                                     |                Blocking:
                                     |  Differential Revisions:
-------------------------------------+-------------------------------------
Description changed by songzh:

Old description:

> It is very good to see that Template Haskell types are now `Generic` and
> `DeriveAnyClass` have been implemented. I suppose that this auto-deriving
> thing can go even further. The problem is like the following:
>
> When we manipulate a complex composite JSON object, we need to define a
> dozen of data types for each of the dozen we may need to derive `Eq`,
> `Show`, `Generic` etc.
>
> Another situaition can be manipulating the AST of a language, there may
> be dozens of data type definitions, also, for each of them, we need to
> derive `Show`, `Eq`, `Generic`.
>
> Take the old Template Haskell types without `Generic` as an example, I
> want to make them instances of `Generic` type class, I wrote:
>
> {{{#!hs
> deriving instance Generic FixityDirection
> deriving instance Generic Inline
> deriving instance Generic RuleBndr
> deriving instance Generic Match
> deriving instance Generic Name
> deriving instance Generic RuleMatch
> deriving instance Generic Pred
> deriving instance Generic Phases
> deriving instance Generic Con
> deriving instance Generic Module
> deriving instance Generic AnnTarget
> deriving instance Generic Type
> deriving instance Generic TyVarBndr
> deriving instance Generic TyLit
> deriving instance Generic Exp
> deriving instance Generic Lit
> deriving instance Generic Pat
> deriving instance Generic Dec
> deriving instance Generic Clause
> deriving instance Generic FunDep
> deriving instance Generic Foreign
> deriving instance Generic Fixity
> deriving instance Generic Pragma
> deriving instance Generic FamFlavour
> ...
> }}}
>
> How can we use `Generic`? Say we want to serialize Template Haskell data
> type with `Binary` type class, Of course, by writing `Binary` empty
> instances or just derive it with `DeriveAnyClass` extension. However, the
> problem is that we still need to write deriving Binary dozens of times,
> as many as the trivial `Generic` deriving declaration above.
>
> What if GHC can attemp to derive the instance from the top of the tree
> down to the leaf in the data type declarations? For example:
>
> {{{#!hs
> data Person = Person Names Address
>             | Student Names Address deriving Generic
> data Names  = Names String deriving Generic
> data Address = Address Gate  deriving Generic
> type Gate = (String,Int)
>
> deriving topdown Eq Person
> }}}
> It will generate `Eq` instances of `Person`, `Names` and `Address` since
> `Name` and `Address` are in the Person data declaration tree.
>
> I tried to implement a prototype see https://github.com/HaskellZhangSong
> /derive-topdown
>
> It is rather an experiment tryout than a formal implementation. If you
> think this feature is attractive, I would like to discuss it.

New description:

 It is very good to see that Template Haskell types are now `Generic` and
 `DeriveAnyClass` have been implemented. I suppose that this auto-deriving
 thing can go even further. The problem is like the following:

 When we manipulate a complex composite JSON object, we need to define a
 dozen of data types for each of the dozen we may need to derive `Eq`,
 `Show`, `Generic` etc.

 Another situaition can be manipulating the AST of a language, there may be
 dozens of data type definitions, also, for each of them, we need to derive
 `Show`, `Eq`, `Generic`.

 Take the old Template Haskell types without `Generic` as an example, I
 want to make them instances of `Generic` type class, I wrote:

 {{{#!hs
 deriving instance Generic FixityDirection
 deriving instance Generic Inline
 deriving instance Generic RuleBndr
 deriving instance Generic Match
 deriving instance Generic Name
 deriving instance Generic RuleMatch
 deriving instance Generic Pred
 deriving instance Generic Phases
 deriving instance Generic Con
 deriving instance Generic Module
 deriving instance Generic AnnTarget
 deriving instance Generic Type
 deriving instance Generic TyVarBndr
 deriving instance Generic TyLit
 deriving instance Generic Exp
 deriving instance Generic Lit
 deriving instance Generic Pat
 deriving instance Generic Dec
 deriving instance Generic Clause
 deriving instance Generic FunDep
 deriving instance Generic Foreign
 deriving instance Generic Fixity
 deriving instance Generic Pragma
 deriving instance Generic FamFlavour
 ...
 }}}

 How can we use `Generic`? Say we want to serialize Template Haskell data
 type with `Binary` type class, Of course, by writing `Binary` empty
 instances or just derive it with `DeriveAnyClass` extension. However, the
 problem is that we still need to write deriving Binary dozens of times, as
 many as the trivial `Generic` deriving declaration above.

 What if GHC can attemp to derive the instance from the top of the tree
 down to the leaf in the data type declarations? For example:

 {{{#!hs
 data Person = Person Names Address
             | Student Names Address
 data Names  = Names String
 data Address = Address Gate
 type Gate = (String,Int)

 deriving topdown Generic Person
 deriving topdown Eq Person
 }}}
 It will generate `Eq` instances of `Person`, `Names` and `Address` since
 `Name` and `Address` are in the Person data declaration tree.

 I tried to implement a prototype see https://github.com/HaskellZhangSong
 /derive-topdown

 It is rather an experiment tryout than a formal implementation. If you
 think this feature is attractive, I would like to discuss it.

--

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Ticket URL: <http://ghc.haskell.org/trac/ghc/ticket/10607#comment:2>
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