[Haskell-cafe] Re: Implementing fixed-sized vectors (using datatype algebra?)

[Wolfgang Jeltsch]

Am Freitag, 8. Februar 2008 17:14 schrieb Stefan Monnier:
> >> > You seem to write 12 as 1 :+ 2 instead of () :+ 1 :+ 2.  But I think,
> >> > the latter representation should probably be prefered.  With it, :+
> >> > always has a number as its left argument and a digit as its right. 
> >> > Without the () :+ we get ugly exceptional cases.
> >> > You can see this, for example, in the instance
> >> > declarations for Compare.  With the second representation, we could
> >> > reduce the number of instances dramatically.  We would define a
> >> > comparison of digits (verbose) and than a comparison of numbers based
> >> > on the digit comparison (not verbose).
> >>
> >> Even if () would be preferred from the programmers point of view (I'm
> >> not sure how much we could reduce the number of instances though), it
> >> makes the representation less attractive on the user-side. Anyone
> >> using the library would find it annoying and would wonder why is it
> >> neccessary.
> >
> > I wouldn’t wonder.  Leaving out the () :* part just works because our
> > type-level “values” are not typed, i.e., there aren’t different kinds
> > Digit and Number but only kind *.  If :+ would be a data constructor (on
> > the value level), it would take a number and a digit argument which would
> > forbid using a digit as its left argument.  So I consider using a digit
> > on the left as “unclean”.  It’s similar to using a number as the second
> > part of a cons cell in LISP.
>
> How 'bout treating :+ as similar to `append' rather than similar to `cons'?
> Basically treat :+ as taking 2 numbers (rather than a number and
> a digit).

So what would (D1 :* D1) :* (D2 :* D2) mean then?

>         Stefan

Best wishes,
Wolfgang