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Pattern Synonyms

Most language entities in Haskell can be named so that they can be abbreviated instead of written out in full. This proposal provides the same power for patterns. See the implementation page for implementation details.

Tickets should include PatternSynonyms in their Keywords to appear in these summary lists.

Open Tickets:

#8581: Pattern synonym used in an expression context could have different constraints to pattern used in a pattern context
#8583: Associated pattern synonyms
#9671: Allow expressions in patterns
#9793: Some as-patterns could be accepted in pattern synonyms
#10783: Partial type signatures should work in pattern synonym signatures
#11212: Should be more liberal parsing pattern synonyms with view patterns
#11228: Interaction between ORF and record pattern synonyms needs to be resolved.
#11350: Allow visible type application in patterns
#11368: Pattern synonym name is mangled when patterns are non-exhaustive
#11461: Allow pattern synonyms to be bundled with type classes?
#11646: Make pattern synonym export type mismatch a warning
#11655: Ambiguous types in pattern synonym not determined by functional dependencies
#11955: Haddock documentation for pattern synonyms printed with explicit forall quantifiers
#11959: Importing doubly exported pattern synonym and associated pattern synonym panics
#11993: RFC, allow local bindings in pattern synonyms
#12006: Can't infer constraint of pattern synonyms
#12025: Order of constraints forced (in pattern synonyms, type classes in comments)
#12178: Allow inline pragmas on pattern synonyms
#12179: Incorrect parsing of a pattern synonym type
#12187: Clarify the scoping of existentials for pattern synonym signatures
#12203: Allow constructors on LHS of (implicit) bidirectional pattern synonym
#12448: Allow partial application of bidirectional pattern synonyms
#12975: Suggested type signature for a pattern synonym causes program to fail to type check
#13042: Allow type annotations / visible type application in pattern synonyms
#13307: Record pattern synonym fields have to be manually exported
#13363: Wildcarn patterns and COMPLETE sets can lead to misleading redundant pattern-match warnings
#13572: Add ArgMin / ArgMax pattern synonyms
#13717: Pattern synonym exhaustiveness checks don't play well with EmptyCase
#13778: explicitly bidirectional patterns should not report Recursive definition" when used in view pattern expression position
#13964: Pattern-match warnings for datatypes with COMPLETE sets break abstraction
#13965: COMPLETE sets nerf redundant pattern-match warnings
#13975: GHC can't infer pattern signature, untoucable kinds
#14059: COMPLETE sets don't work at all with data family instances
#14112: bang patterns on pattern synonyms? (left vs right hand sides)
#14114: Strange behavior when pattern variables are duplicated on pattern synonym RHS
#14133: COMPLETE pragmas seem to be ignored when using view patterns
#14135: PatternSynonyms regression in GHC HEAD (expectJust mkOneConFull)

There is a list of closed tickets at the bottom of the page.

Motivating example

Here is a simple representation of types

    data Type = App String [Type]

Using this representations the arrow type looks like App "->" [t1, t2]. Here are functions that collect all argument types of nested arrows and recognize the Int type:

   collectArgs :: Type -> [Type]
   collectArgs (App "->" [t1, t2]) = t1 : collectArgs t2
   collectArgs _ = []

   isInt (App "Int" []) = True
   isInt _ = False

Matching on App directly is both hard to read and error prone to write.

The proposal is to introduce a way to give patterns names:

   pattern Arrow t1 t2 = App "->" [t1, t2]
   pattern Int = App "Int" []

And now we can write

   collectArgs :: Type -> [Type]
   collectArgs (Arrow t1 t2) = t1 : collectArgs t2
   collectArgs _ = []

   isInt Int = True
   isInt _ = False

Here is a second example from pigworker on Reddit. Your basic sums-of-products functors can be built from this kit.

newtype K a        x  = K a
newtype I          x  = I x
newtype (:+:) f g  x  = Sum (Either (f x) (g x))
newtype (:*:) f g  x  = Prod (f x, g x)

and then you can make recursive datatypes via

newtype Fix f = In (f (Fix f))

e.g.,

type Tree = Fix (K () :+: (I :*: I))

and you can get useful generic operations cheaply because the functors in the kit are all Traversable, admit a partial zip operation, etc.

You can define friendly constructors for use in expressions

leaf :: Tree
leaf = In (Sum (Left (K ())))
node :: Tree -> Tree -> Tree
node l r = In (Sum (Right (Prod (I l, I r))))

but any Tree-specific pattern matching code you write will be wide and obscure. Turning these definitions into pattern synonyms means you can have both readable type-specific programs and handy generics without marshalling your data between views.

Uni-directional (pattern-only) synonyms

The simplest form of pattern synonyms is the one from the examples above. The grammar rule is:

pattern conid varid₁ ... varid_n <- pat

pattern varid₁ consym varid₂ <- pat

Each of the variables on the left hand side must occur exactly once on the right hand side
Pattern synonyms are not allowed to be recursive. Cf. type synonyms.

There have been several proposals for the syntax of defining pattern-only synonyms:

pattern conid varid₁ ... varid_n ~ pat
pattern conid varid₁ ... varid_n := pat
pattern conid varid₁ ... varid_n -> pat
pattern conid varid₁ ... varid_n <- pat

Pattern synonyms can be exported and imported by prefixing the conid with the keyword pattern:

   module Foo (pattern Arrow) where ...

This is required because pattern synonyms are in the namespace of constructors, so it's perfectly valid to have

   data P = C
   pattern P = 42

You may also give a type signature for a pattern, but as with most other type signatures in Haskell it is optional:

pattern conid :: type

E.g.

   pattern Arrow :: Type -> Type -> Type
   pattern Arrow t1 t2 <- App "->" [t1, t2]

Together with ViewPatterns we can now create patterns that look like regular patterns to match on existing (perhaps abstract) types in new ways:

import qualified Data.Sequence as Seq

pattern Empty <- (Seq.viewl -> Seq.EmptyL)
pattern x :< xs <- (Seq.viewl -> x Seq.:< xs)
pattern xs :> x <- (Seq.viewr -> xs Seq.:> x)

Simply-bidirectional pattern synonyms

In cases where pat is in the intersection of the grammars for patterns and expressions (i.e. is valid both as an expression and a pattern), the pattern synonym can be made bidirectional, and can be used in expression contexts as well. Bidirectional pattern synonyms have the following syntax:

pattern conid varid₁ ... varid_n = pat

pattern varid₁ consym varid₂ = pat

For example, the following two pattern synonym definitions are rejected, because they are not bidirectional (but they would be valid as pattern-only synonyms)

   pattern ThirdElem x = _:_:x:_
   pattern Snd y = (x, y)

since the right-hand side is not a closed expression of {x} and {y} respectively.

In contrast, the pattern synonyms for Arrow and Int above are bidirectional, so you can e.g. write:

   arrows :: [Type] -> Type -> Type
   arrows = flip $ foldr Arrow

Explicitly-bidirectional pattern synonyms

What if you want to use Succ in an expression:

    pattern Succ n <- n1 | let n = n1 -1, n >= 0

It's clearly impossible since its expansion is a pattern that has no meaning as an expression. Nevertheless, if we want to make what looks like a constructor for a type we will often want to use it in both patterns and expressions. This is the rationale for the most complicated synonyms, the bidirectional ones. They provide two expansions, one for patterns and one for expressions.

pattern conid varid₁ ... varid_n <- pat where cfunlhs rhs

where cfunlhs is like funlhs, except that the functions symbol is a conid instead of a varid.

Example:

   pattern Succ n <- n1 | let n = n1-1, n >= 0 where
      Succ n = n + 1

TODO: Rewrite this example to not use ViewPatternsAlternative

The first part as is before and describes the expansion of the synonym in patterns. The second part describes the expansion in expressions.

   fac 0 = 0
   fac (Succ n) = Succ n * fac n

Associated pattern synonyms

Just like data types and type synonyms can be part of a class declaration, it would be possible to have pattern synonyms as well.

Example:

   class ListLike l where
      pattern Nil :: l a
      pattern Cons :: a -> l a -> a
      isNil :: l a -> Bool
      isNil Nil = True
      isNil (Cons _ _) = False
      append :: l a -> l a -> l a

   instance ListLike [] where
      pattern Nil = []
      pattern Cons x xs = x:xs
      append = (++)

   headOf :: (ListLike l) => l a -> Maybe a
   headOf Nil = Nothing
   headOf (Cons x _) = Just x

One could go one step further and leave out the pattern keyword to obtain associated constructors, which are required to be bidirectional. The capitalized identifier would indicate that a pattern synonym is being defined. For complicated cases one could resort to the where syntax (shown above).

TODO: Syntax for associated pattern synonym declarations to discern between pattern-only and bidirectional pattern synonyms

Static semantics

A unidirectional pattern synonym declaration has the form

pattern P var1 var2 ... varN <- pat

The formal pattern synonym arguments var1, var2, ..., varN are brought into scope by the pattern pat on the right-hand side. The declaration brings the name P as a pattern synonym into the module-level scope.

The pattern synonym P is assigned a pattern type of the form

pattern P :: CProv => CReq => t1 -> t2 -> ... -> tN -> t

where t1, ..., tN are the types of the parameters var1, ..., varN, t is the simple type (with no context) of the thing getting matched, and CReq and CProv are type contexts.

CReq can be omitted if it is empty. If CProv is empty, but CReq is not, () is used. The following example shows cases:

data Showable where
    MkShowable :: (Show a) => a -> Showable

-- Required context is empty
pattern Sh :: (Show a) => a -> Showable
pattern Sh x <- MkShowable x

-- Provided context is empty, but required context is not
pattern One :: () => (Num a, Eq a) => a
pattern One <- 1

A pattern synonym can be used in a pattern if the instatiated (monomorphic) type satisfies the constraints of CReq. In this case, it extends the context available in the right-hand side of the match with CProv, just like how an existentially-typed data constructor can extend the context.

As with function and variable types, the pattern type signature can be inferred, or it can be explicitly written out on the program.

Here's a more complex example. Let's look at the following definition:

{-# LANGUAGE PatternSynonyms, GADTs, ViewPatterns #-}
module ShouldCompile where

data T a where
	MkT :: (Eq b) => a -> b -> T a

f :: (Show a) => a -> Bool

pattern P x <- MkT (f -> True) x

Here, the inferred type of P is

pattern P :: (Eq b) => (Show a) => b -> T a

A bidirectional pattern synonym declaration has the form

pattern P var1 var2 ... varN = pat

where both of the following are well-typed declarations:

pattern P1 var1 var2 ... varN <- pat

P2 = \var1 var2 ... varN -> pat

In this case, the pattern type of P is simply the pattern type of P1, and its expression type is the type of P2. The name P is brought into the module-level scope both as a pattern synonym and as an expression.

Dynamic semantics

A pattern synonym occurance in a pattern is evaluated by first matching against the pattern synonym itself, and then on the argument patterns. For example, given the following definitions:

pattern P x y <- [x, y]

f (P True True) = True
f _             = False

g [True, True] = True
g _            = False

the behaviour of f is the same as

f [x, y] | True <- x, True <- y = True
f _                             = False

Because of this, the eagerness of f and g differ:

*Main> f (False:undefined)
*** Exception: Prelude.undefined
*Main> g (False:undefined)
False

This is because we generate the matching function at the definition site.

Typed pattern synonyms

So far patterns only had syntactic meaning. In comparison Ωmega has typed pattern synonyms, so they become first class values. For bidirectional pattern synonyms this seems to be the case

data Nat = Z | S Nat deriving Show
pattern Ess p = S p

And it works:

*Main> map S [Z, Z, S Z]
[S Z,S Z,S (S Z)]
*Main> map Ess [Z, Z, S Z]
[S Z,S Z,S (S Z)]

Branching pattern-only synonyms

N.B. this is a speculative suggestion!

Sometimes you want to match against several summands of an ADT simultaneously. E.g. in a data type of potentially unbounded natural numbers:

data Nat = Zero | Succ Nat
type UNat = Maybe Nat -- Nothing meaning unbounded

Conceptually Nothing means infinite, so it makes sense to interpret it as a successor of something. We wish it to have a predecessor just like Just (Succ Zero)!

I suggest branching pattern synonyms for this purpose:

pattern S pred <- pred@Nothing | pred@(Just a <- Just (Succ a))
pattern Z = Just Zero

Here pred@(Just a <- Just (Succ a)) means that the pattern invocation S pred matches against Just (Succ a) and - if successful - binds Just a to pred.

This means we can syntactically address unbound naturals just like bounded ones:

greetTimes :: UNat -> String -> IO ()
greetTimes Z _ = return ()
greetTimes (S rest) message = putStrLn message >> greetTimes rest message

As a nice collateral win this proposal handles pattern Name name <- Person name workplace | Dog name vet too.

Record Pattern Synonyms

See PatternSynonyms/RecordPatternSynonyms

Associating synonyms with types

See PatternSynonyms/AssociatingSynonyms

Closed Tickets

Closed Tickets:

#5144: Pattern synonyms
#8582: Record syntax for pattern synonyms
#8584: Pattern synonym type signatures
#8749: Pattern synonyms crash GHCi
#8761: Make pattern synonyms work with Template Haskell
#8779: Exhaustiveness checks for pattern synonyms
#8841: PatternSynonyms error gives wrong source locations
#8968: Pattern synonyms and GADTs
#9161: Pattern synonyms interact badly with data kinds
#9226: Internal error when using equality constraint in pattern synonyms
#9417: Pattern synonyms across modules broken in Haddock
#9514: Haddock panics when exporting a module with pattern synonyms
#9705: Panic on a pattern synonym in a class
#9732: Pattern synonyms and unboxed values
#9783: Pattern synonym matcher is unnecessarily strict on unboxed continuations
#9803: Poor error message for unbound variable in pattern synonym
#9867: PatternSynonyms + ScopedTypeVariables triggers an internal error
#9889: Pattern synonym does not work in top-level pattern bind
#9891: Fixity declarations for pattern synonyms not persisted
#9900: Support pattern synonyms in GHCi
#9911: Pattern synonyms with no signatures should yield warnings
#9953: Pattern synonyms don't work with GADTs
#9954: Required constraints are not inferred for pattern synonyms involving GADTs
#9967: Pattern synonym type signature documentation out of date
#9975: RecordWildcards and PatternSynonyms cause impossible bug
#10339: PatternSynonyms confuse exhaustiveness check
#10404: GHC panic when creating a monomorphised pattern synonym for GADT
#10426: matchGroupArity panic with PatternSynonyms
#10653: PatternSynonyms should be imported/exported as part of the wildcard notation
#10747: Infix pattern synonyms fail to parse (regression)
#10873: Bad error message for incorrect pattern synonym signature
#10897: Incorrect ASSERT for buildPatSyn
#10997: Pattern synonym causes Iface error.
#11039: Panic with incorrect pattern synonym signature
#11213: Incorrect reported pattern synonym signature
#11224: Program doesn't preserve semantics after pattern synonym inlining.
#11225: Unable to provide type signature for pattern synonym
#11227: Interaction between ORF and record pattern synonyms needs to be resolved.
#11233: Improve optimisation of pattern synonym matching
#11283: PatternSynonms and DisambiguateRecordFields causes panic
#11336: GHC craches on this combination of ViewPatterns and PatternSynonyms
#11351: Scoped type variables in pattern synonyms
#11367: [Regression] Only one clause allowed in (explicitly bidirectional) pattern synonyms
#11524: Something is amiss with quantification in pattern synonym type signatures
#11633: Record field order in a bidirectional pattern synonym match is order dependent
#11667: Incorrect pattern synonym types in error messages
#11727: Allow one type signature for multiple pattern synonyms
#11728: Core lint errors
#11977: ghc doesn't agree with its own inferred pattern type
#11985: Core lint error on record syntax update/pattern synonym
#11986: Record fields not defined with pattern synonym in ghci
#11987: Allow record wildcards with pattern synonyms which are defined in GHCi
#12007: Panic when loading file with nested pattern synonyms into ghci
#12017: GHC panics on pattern synonym ‘kindPrimRep’
#12024: GHC leaks GHC.Prim.~# into type
#12061: Allow duplicate record fields in pattern synonyms
#12094: Unlifted types and pattern synonym signatures
#12101: Regression: Pattern synonyms make GHCi 8.0.1 crash
#12108: Function type synonym fails in pattern synonym
#12109: Matching on pattern synonym succeeds compiled with ghc, fails with ghci
#12153: Bug in pattern synonyms with template haskell
#12165: Multiple pattern type signatures accepted
#12166: Pattern synonym existential variable confusion
#12366: Use TypeOperators for pattern synonyms?
#12426: Allow smart constructors their own types
#12429: Pattern synonym parse error should recommend enabling extension
#12456: Panics when making a quotation as pattern synonym
#12489: undefined in view pattern inside pattern synonym causes GHC to panic
#12548: Exported pattern synonyms does not mark top-level bindings in RHS as used
#12615: Record pattern synonyms cause spurious name shadowing warnings
#12697: Improve output of pattern synonym info
#12698: GHC panic on pattern synonym
#12746: Assertion failed with BuildFlavour = devel2 (one more)
#12767: Pattern synonyms for Cont, Writer, Reader, State, ...
#12872: Pattern synonyms allow multiple type signatures but only use the first
#13018: TH-spliced pattern synonym declaration fails to typecheck
#13022: Pattern Synonyms using other synonyms causes ghc panic
#13071: GHCi 8.0.1 panic with PatternSynonyms
#13158: Pattern synonyms should use type annotation information when typechecking
#13188: COMPLETE pragma causes compilation to hang forever under certain scenarios
#13349: Make GHC handle orphan COMPLETE sets of conlikes better
#13350: COMPLETE sets aren't read from external packages
#13394: PatternSynonyms/OverloadedStrings regression in GHC HEAD
#13441: Type inference failure in bidirectional pattern synonym and GADT pattern match
#13449: Multiple pattern synonym declarations for one signature
#13454: Operators not allowed as fields in Record Pattern Synonyms
#13470: Pattern synonyms bind variables out of scope
#13671: Core lint error with PatternSynonyms and undefined
#13672: Pattern match on LHS of pattern synonym declaration
#13688: Allow splices in definition of pattern synonym
#13735: RankNTypes don't work with PatternSynonyms
#13768: Incorrect warnings generated by exhaustiveness checker with pattern synonyms / GADT combination
#13969: Record pattern synonym incorrectly claims it's recursive, given unbound variable
#14058: Cannot bundle pattern synonym with exported data family

Last modified 14 months ago Last modified on Jun 12, 2016 10:34:36 AM

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