[Haskell-cafe] Non-termination due to context

[Ross Paterson]

On Fri, Jan 22, 2010 at 12:24:37PM +0100, Emil Axelsson wrote:
> Consider the following program:
> 
> >{-# LANGUAGE FlexibleInstances, OverlappingInstances, UndecidableInstances #-}
> >class B a => A a
> >
> >instance A Int
> >
> >class Eq a => B a
> >
> >instance (A a, Eq a) => B a
> [...]
> Although I don't know all the details of the class system, it seems
> unintuitive that I can make a program non-terminating just by
> changing the context of a function (regardless of
> UndecidableInstances etc.).
> 
> Is this a bug or a feature?

I'm afraid you voided the warranty when you used UndecidableInstances.

You really do have a circularity between A and B here, so it's not
surprising that you get a loop.  By changing the context, you demanded
more instances, undecidable ones in fact.