[Haskell-beginners] Data declarations

[Antoine Latter]

On Thu, Jun 2, 2011 at 10:03 PM, Christopher Howard
<christopher.howard at frigidcode.com> wrote:
> I'm trying to understand the Haskell type system, because it is
> portrayed as a rather powerful tool when properly harnessed. There are a
> few things, however, I could use some clarification on. For starters,
> I'm a bit confused about the "data" declarations:
>
> I understand (correctly, I hope) that the purpose of a "data"
> declaration is to create a new type. So this makes sense:
>
> data KeyValuePair = KeyValuePair String String
>
> However, this also compiles:
>
> data KeyValuePair a b = KeyValuePair String String
>
> As well as does this:
>
> data KeyValuePair a b = KeyValuePair String
>
> And this:
>
> data KeyValuePair a b = KeyValuePair
>
> So you can see how I'm getting a bit confused?
>

Yes, 'data' declarations are for introducing a new type.

Keep in mind that the type parameters (here 'a' and 'b') are not
fundamental to the process - I can also declare

> data MyType = MT Integer String

Maybe I can continue the discussion with a question:

* Why should the above examples not compile?

Then we can more deeply explore your confusion :-)

Antoine

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