closing file handles

[Wolfgang Jeltsch]

Tom Pledger wrote:
> [...]
>     go' f
>         = do h    <- openFile f ReadMode
>              text <- hGetContents h
>              case text of
>                  (c:_) -> do hClose h
>                              return c
>
> This way, the pattern match on `text' happens before the innermost
> `do', which in turn closes the handle before letting the rest of the
> computation continue.

I think the above code will lead to problems if file input is done when c is 
evaluated and not earlier.
Pattern-matching against (c:_) will not evaluate c. So the hClose will AFAICS 
be executed before c is evaluated. If reading is caused by an evaluation of c 
taking place later the file will be already closed.

> [...]


Hal Daume wrote:
> [...]
>                      return (c `seq` (hClose h `seq` c))

I don't think that this causes the hClose h to be executed because evaluating 
an IO expression doesn't mean to execute it. Similarily an return (hClose h) 
wouldn't close any file AFAICS.

> [...]


Wolfgang