[Haskell-beginners] Actions v. Functions

[Heinrich Apfelmus]

Rein Henrichs wrote:
> An action in this sense is just a function of type `Monad m => a -> m b'
> (or one where the monad is specified, like `a -> IO b'). This type
> signature fully specifies the "formal properties" of an action and shows
> that actions do not differ from functions: they are merely functions of a
> certain type.

I generally use the word "action" to refer to values of type `IO a` (or 
another monad). A value of type `a -> IO b` would be a function that 
returns an action.


Best regards,
Heinrich Apfelmus

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