User:Zzo38/Proposal for more-notation

This document is proposal for more-notation in Haskell.

Syntax

Anywhere that a more-notation is allowed (see Uses), you can use the syntax:

• more [(name_of_enumeration)] more_name {parameters}
• name_of_enumeration: A name of any type which is an enumeration. It can be another one using more-notation, but it must be able to fully determine it before this more-notation can be fully determined.
• more_name: A capitalized name. It uses the same namespace as constructors, so you are not allowed to have a constructor of the same name (although it is OK to have types of the that name).
• parameters: Optional lowercased names. These names are in local scope, and may already exist in this scope, although they do not have to.

A more-declaration is a module-level declaration of this syntax:

• [ numeric_literal | (enumeration_constructor) ] more_name {parameters} = contents { | contents } ;
• numeric_literal: It should be a natural number. Omitted is the same as zero. This number is called the "order" of the declaration.
• enumeration_constructor: A constructor of the enumeration that was specified in the more-notation. If an enumeration is specified, the enumeration constructor is required here. This number is called the "order" of the declaration.
• parameters: Lowercased names which will be scoped locally to this declaration. The number of parameters must match the number of parameters specified in the more-notation. An unused parameter can be replaced by an underscore.
• contents: The contents depends on where the more-notation is.

Semantics

In the place where the more-notation is, all contents of more-declarations of that name will be reordered and corrected before being placed in place of the more-notation.

Automatic reordering is overridden by the enumeration constructors or numeric literals in front of more-declarations.

Uses

Do-blocks

A statement in a do-block may be replaced by a more-notation. Semantics of more-declarations becomes as follows:

• Multiple statements in a single more-declaration stay in that order and consecutive.

Example:

x = (2 *);
main = do {
  x <- return 21;
  more Doing x;
  print x;
};
Doing a = a <- return $ x a;

becomes

x = (2 *);
main = do {
  x <- return 21;
  x <- return $ Main.x x;
  print x; -- results in 42 (the answer to life, the universe, and everything)
};

Case alternatives

An alternative for a case block may be replaced by a more-notation. Semantics of more-declarations becomes as follows:

• Cases within an order are reordered so that the most specific ones come first.

Example:

X = (_, False, True) -> 1;
X = (True, True, True) -> 2;
X = _ -> 3;
X = (False, True, True) -> 4;
y x = case x of {
  more X;
};

becomes:

y x = case x of {
  (True, True, True) -> 2;
  (False, True, True) -> 4;
  (_, False, True) -> 1;
  _ -> 3;
};

Case guards

Cases can have guards and case alternatives in more-declarations can also have guards that use more-notation. There is no guarantee to the order except:

• Guards listed in a single more-declaration keep that order.
• Duplicate guards are removed.
• Duplicate guard conditions that to not have matching result expressions are errors.
• You can list guard conditions without the result values; these cause the order to be forced if such guard conditions exist, but does not create them if they do not exist.

Example:

y x = case x of {
  more Cases;
};
Cases = (a, b) | more X a b;
X a b = a > 5 -> b;
X a b = a < 5 -> a;
X a b = a == 5 -> 0;

Datatype declarations

A constructor definition in a data declaration is allowed to be replaced by a more-notation. Semantics of more-declarations becomes as follows:

• Duplicate constructors are removed.
• Duplicate constructors that do not match are errors.
• Multiple constructors in a single more-declaration are guaranteed to keep the order given.

Example:

data T = Zero | more T deriving (Eq);
T = Two | Three | Four;
T = One | Two;

becomes

data T = Zero | One | Two | Three | Four deriving (Eq);

Fields in record syntax

A field in either a data type declaration or in a value construction or update syntax can be replaced by more-notation. Semantics of more-declarations becomes as follows:

• Duplicate fields are removed.
• Duplicate fields that do not match are errors.
• A more-declaration can specify both the type and the value. Types are only used in data type declarations and values only in the other places.

In addition, parameters of a more-notation used in a field more-notation of a datatype declaration can be named _ in which case that parameter can only be used to compute the value of the field, not the type of the field. It is also permitted in a field more-notation of a value construction or update syntax, which case that parameter is not used for value construction and can only be used to compute the type. If there is a parameter that is named _ neither in the value or datatype declaration, then it has to be a type but you can use that type both in the type of the field and in types used for computing values of that field.

Example:

data Abc = Abc { name_of :: String, more AbcField };
makeAbc :: Abc;
makeAbc = Abc { name_of = "", more AbcField };
AbcField = age_of :: Int = 0;
AbcField = existing :: Bool = True;

becomes

data Abc = Abc { name_of :: String, age_of :: Int, existing :: Bool };
makeAbc :: Abc;
makeAbc = Abc { name_of = "", age_of = 0, existing = True }; 

Lists

A list item can be replaced by a more-notation. Semantics of more-declarations becomes as follows:

• Multiple items in a single more-declaration stay in that order and consecutive.

Example:

k :: [String];
k = [more K];
1 K = "One";
5 K = "Five";
3 K = "Three";
K = "Zero";

becomes:

k :: [String];
k = ["Zero", "One", "Three", "Five"];

Combining with Template Haskell

Uses in quotations

A more-notation can go with quotations in both ways, and with splices in both ways. For example, you can have $(doThis 0 [more MoreDoThis]) with declarations having to do with MoreDoThis outside of the splice.

Types and constructors

* Dec
** MoreCaseD Name MoreOrder [Name] [Match]
** MoreDataD Name MoreOrder [Name] [Con]
** MoreDoD Name MoreOrder [Name] [Stmt]
** MoreListD Name MoreOrder [Name] [Exp]
** MoreRecD Name MoreOrder [Name] [MoreField]
* Info
** MoreI Int MoreMode Name [Dec]
* MoreField = (Name, Maybe StrictType, Maybe Exp)
* MoreMode
** MoreCase
** MoreData
** MoreDo
** MoreList
** MoreRec Bool Bool
* MoreOrder
** NoOrder
** NamedOrder Name
** NumericOrder Int

Purpose to use more-notation

haskell-src-exts

In the ParseSyntax.hs file, everything has to be defined multiple times in different places, and in a common way. Using more-notation with Template Haskell could fix that. You could even put different extensions in different files and then combine them into one file.

data PExp l
    = Var l (QName l)                       -- ^ variable
    | IPVar l (IPName l)                    -- ^ implicit parameter variable
    | Con l (QName l)                       -- ^ data constructor
    | Lit l (Literal l)                     -- ^ literal constant
{- ... -}
instance Annotated PExp where
    ann e = case e of
        Var l qn        -> l
        IPVar l ipn     -> l
        Con l qn        -> l
        Lit l lit       -> l
{- ... -}
   amap f e = case e of
       Var l qn                -> Var   (f l) qn
       IPVar l ipn             -> IPVar (f l) ipn
       Con l qn                -> Con   (f l) qn
       Lit l lit               -> Lit   (f l) lit

As it might see, they are all written in many places, and the other ones are just written all in one way.

 data PExp l = more PExpConstructors l;
 instance Annotated PExp where {
   ann e = case e of more PExpAnnCases;
   amap f e = case e of more PExpAmapCases f;
 };
 let {
   convAnn :: Dec -> Dec;
   convAnn (MoreDataD _ _ _ c) = MoreCaseD ''PExpAnnCases NoOrder 'l $ fmap convAnn1 c;
   convAnn1 :: Con -> Match;
   convAnn1 (NormalC n t) = Match (ConP n $ (VarP 'l) : fmap (const WildP) (tail t)) (VarE 'l) [];
 } in do {
   MoreI _ _ _ m <- reify ''PExpConstructors;
   return $ fmap convAnn m;
 };

Magic Set Editor

In MSE, there are game templates, style templates, and export templates. Let's say you could somehow write them as a value in Haskell (MSE has some impure functions, but it is possible to make pure versions of those functions).

You could have a card datatype like this (if the cardStyle is Nothing then it uses the default style for the set):

data Card = Card { more CardFields, cardStyle :: Maybe Style };

Now you can have styles.

data Style = more Styles;
renderStyle :: Style -> Render ();
renderStyle s = case s of more StyleRenderers;

The Render monad can allow you to retrieve card field values, as well as use do-notation with more-notation. You could then use the orders of the more-declarations to represent z-orders of fields.

Extensibility

Literate programming

You might want a datatype or something else representing features of the program, and you might want to organize them into chapters. Therefore, you can define things in the chapter they belong.

Inform 7

See also

• Extensible datatypes
• Relative infix operator precedences