Monad -package:rerebase -package:haskell-gi-base package:base

The Monad class defines the basic operations over a monad, a concept from a branch of mathematics known as category theory. From the perspective of a Haskell programmer, however, it is best to think of a monad as an abstract datatype of actions. Haskell's do expressions provide a convenient syntax for writing monadic expressions. Instances of Monad should satisfy the following:

• Left identity return a >>= k = k a
• Right identity m >>= return = m
• Associativity m >>= (\x -> k x >>= h) = (m >>= k) >>= h

Furthermore, the Monad and Applicative operations should relate as follows:

• pure = return

• m1 <*> m2 = m1 >>= (\x1 -> m2
  >>= (\x2 -> return (x1 x2)))

The above laws imply:

• fmap f xs = xs >>= return .
  f

• (>>) = (*>)

and that pure and (<*>) satisfy the applicative functor laws. The instances of Monad for lists, Maybe and IO defined in the Prelude satisfy these laws.

The Functor, Monad and MonadPlus classes, with some useful operations on monads.

When a value is bound in do-notation, the pattern on the left hand side of <- might not match. In this case, this class provides a function to recover. A Monad without a MonadFail instance may only be used in conjunction with pattern that always match, such as newtypes, tuples, data types with only a single data constructor, and irrefutable patterns (~pat). Instances of MonadFail should satisfy the following law: fail s should be a left zero for >>=,

fail s >>= f  =  fail s

If your Monad is also MonadPlus, a popular definition is

fail _ = mzero

fail s should be an action that runs in the monad itself, not an exception (except in instances of MonadIO). In particular, fail should not be implemented in terms of error.

Monads that also support choice and failure.

Monads having fixed points with a 'knot-tying' semantics. Instances of MonadFix should satisfy the following laws:

• Purity mfix (return . h) = return (fix h)
• Left shrinking (or Tightening) mfix (\x -> a >>= \y -> f x y) = a >>= \y -> mfix (\x -> f x y)
• Sliding mfix (liftM h . f) = liftM h (mfix (f . h)), for strict h.
• Nesting mfix (\x -> mfix (\y -> f x y)) = mfix (\x -> f x x)

This class is used in the translation of the recursive do notation supported by GHC and Hugs.

Monads in which IO computations may be embedded. Any monad built by applying a sequence of monad transformers to the IO monad will be an instance of this class. Instances should satisfy the following laws, which state that liftIO is a transformer of monads:

• liftIO . return = return

• liftIO (m >>= f) = liftIO m >>=
  (liftIO . f)

Instances should satisfy the laws:

• Naturality

  liftM (f *** g) (mzip
  ma mb) = mzip (liftM f ma) (liftM g
  mb)

• Information Preservation liftM (const ()) ma = liftM (const ()) mb implies munzip (mzip ma mb) = (ma, mb)

The ArrowApply class is equivalent to Monad: any monad gives rise to a Kleisli arrow, and any instance of ArrowApply defines a monad.