PROGRAMMING IN HASKELL
Chapter 2 - First Steps
1
Glasgow Haskell Compiler
GHC is the leading implementation of
Haskell, and comprises a compiler and
interpreter;
The interactive nature of the interpreter
makes it well suited for teaching and
prototyping;
GHC is freely available from:
www.haskell.org/downloads
2
Starting GHCi
The interpreter can be started from the
terminal command prompt $ by simply
typing ghci:
$ ghci
GHCi, version X: http://www.haskell.org/ghc/ :? for help
Prelude>
The GHCi prompt > means that the
interpreter is now ready to evaluate an
expression. 3
For example, it can be used as a desktop
calculator to evaluate simple numeric
expresions:
> 2+3*4
14
> (2+3)*4
20
> sqrt (3^2 + 4^2)
5.0
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The Standard Prelude
Haskell comes with a large number of
standard library functions. In addition to
the familiar numeric functions such as +
and *, the library also provides many
useful functions on lists.
Select the first element of a
list:
> head [1,2,3,4,5]
1
5
Remove the first element from a list:
> tail [1,2,3,4,5]
[2,3,4,5]
Select the nth element of a list:
> [1,2,3,4,5] !! 2
3
Select the first n elements of a list:
> take 3 [1,2,3,4,5]
[1,2,3]
6
Remove the first n elements from a list:
> drop 3 [1,2,3,4,5]
[4,5]
Calculate the length of a list:
> length [1,2,3,4,5]
5
Calculate the sum of a list of numbers:
> sum [1,2,3,4,5]
15
7
Calculate the product of a list of numbers:
> product [1,2,3,4,5]
120
Append two lists:
> [1,2,3] ++ [4,5]
[1,2,3,4,5]
Reverse a list:
> reverse [1,2,3,4,5]
[5,4,3,2,1]
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Function Application
In mathematics, function application is
denoted using parentheses, and
multiplication is often denoted using
juxtaposition or space.
f(a,b) + c d
Apply the function f to a and b, and
add the result to the product of c and
d.
9
In Haskell, function application is denoted
using space, and multiplication is denoted
using *.
f a b + c*d
As previously, but in Haskell
syntax.
10
Moreover, function application is assumed
to have higher priority than all other
operators.
fa+b
Means (f a) + b, rather than f (a +
b).
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Examples
Mathematics Haskell
f(x) fx
f(x,y) fxy
f(g(x)) f (g x)
f(x,g(y)) f x (g y)
f(x)g(y) fx*gy
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Haskell Scripts
As well as the functions in the standard
library, you can also define your own
functions;
New functions are defined within a script,
a text file comprising a sequence of
definitions;
By convention, Haskell scripts usually
have a .hs suffix on their filename. This is
not mandatory, but is useful for 13
My First Script
When developing a Haskell script, it is
useful to keep two windows open, one
running an editor for the script, and the
other running GHCi.
Start an editor, type in the following two
function definitions, and save the script as
test.hs:
double x = x + x
quadruple x = double (double x)
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Leaving the editor open, in another window
start up GHCi with the new script:
$ ghci test.hs
Now both the standard library and the file
test.hs are loaded, and functions from both
can be used:
> quadruple 10
40
> take (double 2) [1,2,3,4,5,6]
[1,2,3,4]
15
Leaving GHCi open, return to the editor, add
the following two definitions, and resave:
factorial n = product [1..n]
average ns = sum ns `div` length ns
Note:
div is enclosed in back quotes, not
forward;
x `f` y is just syntactic sugar for f x y.
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GHCi does not automatically detect that the
script has been changed, so a reload
command must be executed before the new
definitions can be used:
> :reload
Reading file "test.hs"
> factorial 10
3628800
> average [1,2,3,4,5]
3
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Command
Useful GHCi Meaning
Commands
:load name load script
name
:reload reload current
script
:set editor name set editor to
name
:edit name edit script
name
:edit edit current script
:type expr show type of expr
:? show all
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commands
Naming Requirements
Function and argument names must begin
with a lower-case letter. For example:
myFun fun1 arg_2 x’
By convention, list arguments usually
have an s suffix on their name. For
example:
xs ns nss
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The Layout Rule
In a sequence of definitions, each definition
must begin in precisely the same column:
a = 10 a = 10 a = 10
b = 20 b = 20 b = 20
c = 30 c = 30 c = 30
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The layout rule avoids the need for explicit
syntax to indicate the grouping of
definitions.
a=b+c a=b+c
where where
b=1 means {b = 1;
c=2 c = 2}
d=a*2 d=a*2
implicit explicit
grouping grouping
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Exercises
Try out slides 2-7 and 13-16 using
(1) GHCi.
(2) Fix the syntax errors in the program
below, and test your solution using
GHCi.
N = a ’div’ length xs
where
a = 10
xs = [1,2,3,4,5]
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(3) Show how the library function last that
selects the last element of a list can be
defined using the functions introduced
in this lecture.
(4) Can you think of another possible
definition?
Similarly, show how the library function
(5)
init that removes the last element from
a list can be defined in two different
ways.
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