Monad

Monad class (base)

import Control.Monad

The Monad class is defined like this:

class Monad m where
  (>>=) :: m a -> (a -> m b) -> m b
  (>>) :: m a -> m b -> m b
  return :: a -> m a
  fail :: String -> m a

All instances of Monad should obey:

return a >>= k  =  k a
m >>= return  =  m
m >>= (\x -> k x >>= h)  =  (m >>= k) >>= h

See this intuitive explanation of why they should obey the Monad laws.

Any Monad can be made a Functor by defining

fmap ab ma = ma >>= (return . ab)

However, the Functor class is not a superclass of the Monad class. See Functor hierarchy proposal.

Monad Tutorials

Monads are known for being deeply confusing to lots of people, so there are plenty of tutorials specifically related to monads. Each takes a different approach to Monads, and hopefully everyone will find something useful.

• Monads as Containers
• All About Monads
• Simple monad examples
• Of monads and space suits
• You could have invented monads
• Meet Bob The Monadic Lover, or the slightly more serious The Monadic Way

Monad Reference Guides

An explanation of the basic Monad functions, with examples, can be found in the reference guide A tour of the Haskell Monad functions, by Henk-Jan van Tuyl.