Errors for the Common Man: Hiding the unintelligable in Haskell
File(s)
Submitted version
Author(s)
Sackman, M
Eisenbach, S
Type
Report
Abstract
If a library designer takes full advantage of HaskellÆs rich type system and type-level programming capabilities, then the resulting library will frequently inflict huge and unhelpful error messages on the library user. These error messages are typically in terms of the library and do not refer to the call-site of the library by the library user, nor provide any guidance to the user as to how to fix the error. \r\n\r\nThe increasing appetite for programmable type-level computation makes this a critical issue, as the advantages and capabilities of type-level computation are nullified if useful error messages cannot be returned to the user. \r\n\r\nWe present a novel technique that neatly side-steps the default error messages and allows the library programmer to control the generation of error messages that are statically returned to the user. Thus with this technique, there is no longer any drawback to using the full power of HaskellÆs type system. \r\n\r\n
Version
Submitted version
Date Issued
2008-09
Citation
2008, pp.1-12
Publisher
Department of Computing, Imperial College
Start Page
1
End Page
12
Copyright Statement
©The Author