[Haskell-cafe] Re: Why is there no splitBy in the list module?

[Brian Hulley]

Christian Maeder wrote:
> Donald Bruce Stewart schrieb:
>> Question over whether it should be:
>>     splitBy (=='a') "aabbaca" == ["","","bb","c",""]
>>   or
>>     splitBy (=='a') "aabbaca" == ["bb","c"]
>>
>> I argue the second form is what people usually want.
>
> Yes, the second form is needed for "words", but the first form is
> needed for "lines", where one final empty element needs to be removed
> from your version!
>
> Prelude> lines "a\nb\n"
> ["a","b"]
> Prelude> lines "a\n\nb\n\n"
> ["a","","b",""]

Prelude.lines and Prelude.unlines treat '\n' as a terminator instead of a 
separator. I'd argue that this is poor design, since information is lost ie 
lines . unlines === id whereas unlines . lines =/= id whereas if '\n' had 
been properly conceived of as a separator, the identity would hold.

So I vote for the first option ie:

    splitBy (=='a') "aabbaca" == ["","","bb","c",""]


Regards, Brian.
-- 
Logic empowers us and Love gives us purpose.
Yet still phantoms restless for eras long past,
congealed in the present in unthought forms,
strive mightily unseen to destroy us.

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