Cristiano Paris wrote:
class FooOp a b where
foo :: a -> b -> IO ()
instance FooOp Int Double where
foo x y = putStrLn $ (show x) ++ " Double " ++ (show y)
partialFoo = foo (10::Int)
bar = partialFoo (5.0::Double)
The Haskell type classes system works in an "open world assumption":
while the compiler can see the class instances in your code, it does not
assume there are not others elsewhere (e.g. in another module).
In your example, the compiler can not prove that the only instance matching
prog = partialFoo 5.0 10
is the one you wrote, unless you restrict the numeric constants to
specific types as you did. Indeed, assume that in another module there
is the instance
instance FooOp Double Double where
foo _ _ = putStrLn "DD"
what should then be the result of your program prog? 10 might be a
Double after all, and "DD" could be as good a result as "5.0 Double 10".
Being ambiguous, the program is rejected. Due to the open world
assumption, your program is rejected as well.
Regards,
Zun.
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