[Haskell-cafe] programming style...and type classes...

[Nicholls, Mark]

>Subject: Re: [Haskell-cafe] programming style...and type classes...
>
>My rule of thumb is that if there is one obvious instance (or none) for every
>given type, then your abstraction is a good candidate for a typeclass; if multiple
>instances make sense, then it's a judgment call; and if many instances could
>arbitrarily make sense or not depending on the usage / circumstances, then it's
>probably not a good candidate for a typeclass.

OK, that’s a bit more prescriptive...so if many instances make sense (Ord a) then what?

Seems like Ord is a "bad" typeclass?...it should really be a dictionary data type? And then you simply define which order you want?

There needs to be 1 (or 0) instances because this is all resolved compile time?....i.e. so we (the programmer/compiler) need a function from types, and function name into instances...if there 0 instance...then boom...not defined..so you need to do something, that’s fixable....if 2...then boom...you're in trouble?
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