Haskell Glossary

Browse 16 haskell terms defined in plain English, from the cultural dictionary of computing.

16 Haskell Terms

Algebraic Data Type
A composite type formed by combining other types using sum (tagged union / variant) and product (tuple / record) constructors, enabling the compiler to...
Applicative Functor
A type class between Functor and Monad that allows applying a function inside a context to a value inside a context. Enables combining multiple independent...
Cabal
The build system and package manager for Haskell, responsible for dependency resolution, compilation, and publishing packages to Hackage — often used alongside...
Category
In category theory (and its application to typed functional programming), a mathematical structure consisting of objects and morphisms (arrows) between them,...
Currying
The technique of transforming a function that takes multiple arguments into a sequence of functions that each take a single argument. Named after mathematician...
Forall
A universal quantifier in type theory and languages like Haskell that introduces type variables scoped over a type signature, enabling parametric polymorphism....
Functor
In functional programming, a type that implements a map operation, allowing a function to be applied to values inside a context (like a list, option, or...
GHC
The Glasgow Haskell Compiler — the primary, industrial-strength compiler for Haskell, known for aggressive optimizations, a sophisticated type system, and...
Lazy Evaluation
An evaluation strategy that delays the computation of an expression until its value is actually needed, avoiding unnecessary work and enabling infinite data...
Monad
A design pattern from category theory that wraps values in a computational context, providing bind and return operations to chain operations while handling...
Newtype
A pattern (and keyword in Haskell) for creating a distinct type that wraps an existing type with zero runtime overhead, providing type safety by preventing...
Opaque Type
A type whose internal representation is hidden from consumers of a module or API, exposing only the operations defined on it. In Swift (`some Protocol`),...
Point-Free Style
A programming style in functional languages where functions are defined by composing other functions without explicitly mentioning their arguments — e.g.,...
Reader Monad
A monad that threads a shared, read-only environment (such as configuration or dependencies) through a computation without passing it explicitly as a function...
Smart Constructor
A function that wraps the raw data constructor of a type and enforces additional invariants at construction time — returning an error or Maybe/Option if the...
Type Class
A Haskell construct that defines a set of functions that can be implemented for different types, enabling ad-hoc polymorphism. Similar to traits or interfaces...

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