Unsafe functions

I think unsafePerformIO might actually be a pretty good alternative, we just need to understand how to use it safely [...]

Victor Miraldo.

There are a number of unsafe functions in the libraries.

• unsafePerformIO :: IO a -> a
• unsafeInterleaveIO :: IO a -> IO a
• unsafeInterleaveST :: ST s a -> ST s a
• unsafeIOToST :: IO a -> ST s a
• unsafeIOToSTM :: IO a -> STM a
• unsafeFreeze, unsafeThaw
• unsafeCoerce# :: a -> b
• seq :: a -> b -> b

Unsafe functions can break type safety (unsafeCoerce#, unsafePerformIO), interfere with lazy IO (unsafeInterleaveIO), or break parametricity (seq). Their use (except in the case of seq) would require some kind of assurance on the part of the programmer that what they're doing is safe.

unsafe is also a keyword which can be used in a foreign import declaration.

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