:: a -> b -> (a, b)

The left-hand part of a convenient ternary-ish operator x-<e>-y for creating labelled edges.
x -<e>- y == edge e x y
Shortcut for constructing pairs. Used in combination with xelem for separating child-attributes from child-elements.
Embed a pure value in a stateful computation, i.e., given an initial state, how to interpret a pure value in a stateful computation.