Strange Haskell/GHCi issue - functional-programming

So I have a bit of code*, that when taking three points, is supposed to return a direction. I've written this solution, but every time I try to run it, it causes the GHCi to freeze, so I'm wondering what I'm doing wrong. Here's the code:
--chapter 3 question 9
data Point x y = Point x y deriving (Eq, Show)
data Vector x y = Vector x y deriving (Eq, Show)
sub (Point x y) (Point a b) = (Vector (x-a) (y-b))
dot (Vector x y) (Vector a b) = (x*a)+(y*b)
perp (Vector x y) = (Vector (-y) x)
mag (Vector x y) = sqrt (dot v v) where v = (Vector x y)
data Direction = LeftTurn | RightTurn | Straight | Reverse | Stop | Undefined
deriving (Eq, Show)
getDirection (Point a b) (Point c d) (Point e f)
| a/=c && b/=d && c==e && d==f = Stop
| a==c && b==d || c==e && d==f || e==a && f==b = Undefined
| d > 0 = LeftTurn
| d < 0 = RightTurn
| otherwise = Straight
where d = dot (sub p1 p0) (perp (sub p2 p1))
where p0 = (Point a b)
p1 = (Point c d)
p2 = (Point e f)
There's no recursion that I can see, so I don't understand why it's behaving this way. So far the Haskell compiler has been very vocal about telling me when I'm doing something dumb, but this compiles just fine.
*This is Question 9 from Chapter 3 of "Real World Haskell" in case you're wondering.

You're binding the name twice. First in the pattern Point c d than in the where clause.
Thus if you're trying to access the d bound by the pattern, you're actually referring to the d from the where clause recursively.

Related

Difference between let+, let* and let()?

As the documentation on OCaml is sparse, i would appreciate if some one can explain the difference in different flavors of let usage.
I tried looking into https://dev.realworldocaml.org/toc.html, but there is no easy way to search in the website. Google search landed me to some articles, but did not get the exact explanation.
The basic form of let expressions is:
let p1 = e1
and p2 = e2
...
and pN = eN
in e
where N is at least 1. In this form, let expressions pattern matches the value that results from evaluating the RHS expressions against the LHS patterns, then evaluates the body with the new bindings defined by the LHS patterns in scope. For example,
let x, y = 1, 2 in
x + y
evaluates to 3.
When let has an operator name attached, it is the application of what is called a "let operator" or "binding operator" (to give you easier terms to search up). For example:
let+ x, y = 1, 2 in
x + y
desugars to (let+) (1, 2) (fun (x, y) -> x + y). (Similar to how one surrounds the operator + in parentheses, making it (+), to refer to its identifier, the identifier for the let operator let+, as it appears in a let expression, would be (let+).)
Finally, when a let binding has an operator name attached, all the and bindings must have operator names attached as well.
let* x = 1
and+ y = 2
and* z = 3 in
x + y + z
desugars to (let*) ((and+) 1 ((and*) 2 3)) (fun ((x, y), z) ->).
The following program is invalid and has no meaning because the let binding is being used as an operator, but the and binding is not:
let* x = 1
and y = 2 in
x + y
Binding operators are covered in the "language extensions" section of the OCaml documentation.
let () = e is merely the non-operator form of a pattern match, where () is the pattern that matches the only value of the unit type. The unit type is conventionally the type of expressions that don't evaluate to a meaningful value, but exist for side effects (e.g. print_endline "Hello world!"). Matching against () ensures that the expression has type (), catching partial application errors. The following typechecks:
let f x y =
print_endline x;
print_endline y
let () =
f "Hello" "World"
The following does not:
let f x y =
print_endline x;
print_endline y
let () =
f "Hello" (* Missing second argument, so expression has type string -> unit, not unit *)
Note that the binding operators are useful for conveniently using "monads" and "applicatives," so you may hear these words when learning about binding operators. However, binding operators are not inherently related to these concepts. All they do is desugar to the expressions that I describe above, and any other significance (such as relation to monads) results from how the operator was defined.
Consider the following code from the OCaml page on let operators.
let ( let* ) o f =
match o with
| None -> None
| Some x -> f x
let return x = Some x
If we create a very simply map:
module M = Map.Make (Int)
let m = M.(empty |> add 1 4 |> add 2 3 |> add 3 7)
If we wanted to write a function that takes a map and two keys and adds the values at those keys, returning int option, we might write:
let add_values m k1 k2 =
match M.find_opt k1 m with
| None -> None
| Some v1 ->
match M.find_opt k2 m with
| None -> None
| Some v2 ->
Some (v1 + v2)
Now, of course there are multiple ways of defining this. We could:
let add_values m k1 k2 =
match (M.find_opt k1 m, M.find_opt k2 m) with
| (None, _) | (_, None) -> None
| (Some v1, Some v2) -> Some (v1 + v2)
Or take advantage of exceptions:
let add_values m k1 k2 =
try
Some (M.find k1 m + M.find k2 m)
with
| Not_found -> None
Let operators let us write:
let add_values m k1 k2 =
let* v1 = M.find_opt k1 m in
let* v2 = M.find_opt k2 m in
return (v1 + v2)

Value Bindings in SML? [duplicate]

This question already has answers here:
Value of bindings in SML?
(2 answers)
Closed 6 years ago.
Could someone please help. I don't get the sequence of evaluation here and how we got values of "ans". e.g. in the first example there's no value of y and I'm not sure whether this returns a pair or calls x ! (fn y => y x). It would be very helpful if you can Trace each expression.
val x = 1
val f = (fn y => y x)
val x = 7
val g = (fn y => x - y)
val ans = f g
val ans = 6 : int
=====================================
fun f p =
let
val x = 3
val y = 4
val (z,w) = p
in
(z (w y)) + x
end
val x = 1
val y = 2
val ans = f((fn z => x + z), (fn x => x + x + 0))
val ans = 12 : int
There are a few things which help make problems like this much clearer
when trying understand an alien function Lexical scoping works.
add in types to the parameters and return values without modifying the program, the compiler will tell you if you get it wrong...
replace anonymous functions with named ones.
rename variable bindings that have the same names but refer to different lexical scope.
remove variable bindings that only get used once.
binding a value to a name does not actually perform any computation,
so is merely for the benefit of the reader, if it is not doing that job
it merely serves to obfuscate, then by all means remove it.
fun f (y1 : int -> 'a) = y1 1 : 'a;
fun g (y2 : int) = 7 - y2 : int;
val ans : int = f g;
so g is given as a parameter to f, f calls g giving it the parameter x having the value 1 making y2 = 1, which g subtracts 7 - 1 returning 6.
the return value of g is an int, thus f's 'a type when g is applied to it is an int.
for the 2nd one clean it up a bit, I pulled the anonymous fn's out into their own and named values and call f (foo, bar) to make it more readable...
fun f p =
let val x = 3
val y = 4
val (z, w) = p
in (z (w y)) + x end
fun foo z = z + 1;
fun bar x = x * 2;
val ans = f(foo, bar);
Finally, we can get rid of the let values which are only used once
and replace the (z,w) = p with just (z, w) as a parameter to the function which should be much easier to follow
fun f (z, w) = (z (w 4)) + 3
fun foo z = z + 1;
fun bar x = x * 2;
val ans = f(foo, bar);
val ans = ((4 * 2) + 1) + 3

Ocaml nested if without else

Is it possible to have nested if without else statements. I wrote the following useless program to demonstrate nested ifs. How do I fix this so it's correct in terms of syntax. lines 5 and 6 gives errors.
let rec move_helper b sz r = match b with
[] -> r
|(h :: t) ->
if h = 0 then
if h - 1 = sz then h - 1 ::r
if h + 1 = sz then h + 1 ::r
else move_helper t sz r
;;
let move_pos b =
move_helper b 3 r
;;
let g = move_pos [0;8;7;6;5;4;3;2;1]
You can't have if without else unless the result of the expression is of type unit. This isn't the case for your code, so it's not possible.
Here's an example where the result is unit:
let f x =
if x land 1 <> 0 then print_string "1";
if x land 2 <> 0 then print_string "2";
if x land 4 <> 0 then print_string "4"
You must understand that if ... then is an expression like any other. If no else is present, it must be understood as if ... then ... else () and thus has type unit. To emphasize the fact that it is an expression, suppose you have two functions f and g of type, say, int → int. You can write
(if test then f else g) 1
You must also understand that x :: r does not change r at all, it constructs a new list putting x in front of r (the tail of this list is shared with the list r). In your case, the logic is not clear: what is the result when h=0 but the two if fail?
let rec move_helper b sz r = match b with
| [] -> r
| h :: t ->
if h = 0 then
if h - 1 = sz then (h - 1) :: r
else if h + 1 = sz then (h + 1) :: r
else (* What do you want to return here? *)
else move_helper t sz r
When you have a if, always put an else. Because when you don't put an else, Java will not know if the case is true or false.

How do variables in pattern matching allow parameter omission?

I'm doing some homework but I've been stuck for hours on something.
I'm sure it's really trivial but I still can't wrap my head around it after digging through the all documentation available.
Can anybody give me a hand?
Basically, the exercise in OCaml programming asks to define the function x^n with the exponentiation by squaring algorithm.
I've looked at the solution:
let rec exp x = function
0 -> 1
| n when n mod 2 = 0 -> let y = exp x (n/2) in y*y
| n when n mod 2 <> 0 -> let y = exp x ((n-1)/2) in y*y*x
;;
What I don't understand in particular is how the parameter n can be omitted from the fun statement and why should it be used as a variable for a match with x, which has no apparent link with the definition of exponentiation by squaring.
Here's how I would do it:
let rec exp x n = match n with
0 -> 1
| n when (n mod 2) = 1 -> (exp x ((n-1)/2)) * (exp x ((n-1)/2)) * x
| n when (n mod 2) = 0 -> (exp x (n/2)) * (exp x (n/2))
;;
Your version is syntaxically correct, yields a good answer, but is long to execute.
In your code, exp is called recursively twice, thus yielding twice as much computation, each call yielding itself twice as much computation, etc. down to n=0. In the solution, exp is called only once, the result is storred in the variable y, then y is squared.
Now, about the syntax,
let f n = match n with
| 0 -> 0
| foo -> foo-1
is equivalent to:
let f = function
| 0 -> 0
| foo -> foo-1
The line let rec exp x = function is the begging of a function that takes two arguments: x, and an unnammed argument used in the pattern matching. In the pattern matching, the line
| n when n mod 2 = 0 ->
names this argument n. Not that a different name could be used in each case of the pattern matching (even if that would be less clear):
| n when n mod 2 = 0 -> let y = exp x (n/2) in y*y
| p when p mod 2 <> 0 -> let y = exp x ((p-1)/2) in y*y*x
The keyword "function" is not a syntaxic sugar for
match x with
but for
fun x -> match x with
thus
let rec exp x = function
could be replaced by
let rec exp x = fun y -> match y with
which is of course equivalent with your solution
let rec exp x y = match y with
Note that i wrote "y" and not "n" to avoid confusion. The n variable introduced after the match is a new variable, which is only related to the function parameter because it match it. For instance, instead of
let y = x in ...
you could write :
match x with y -> ...
In this match expression, the "y" expression is the "pattern" matched. And like any pattern, it binds its variables (here y) with the value matched. (here the value of x) And like any pattern, the variables in the pattern are new variables, which may shadow previously defined variables. In your code :
let rec exp x n = match n with
0 -> 1
| n when (n mod 2) = 1 -> (exp x ((n-1)/2)) * (exp x ((n-1)/2)) * x
| n when (n mod 2) = 0 -> (exp x (n/2)) * (exp x (n/2))
;;
the variable n in the two cases shadow the parameter n. This isn't a problem, though, since the two variable with the same name have the same value.

Haskell and Quadratics

I have to write a program to solve quadratics, returning a complex number result.
I've gotten so far, with defining a complex number, declaring it to be part of num, so +,- and * - ing can take place.
I've also defined a data type for a quadratic equation, but im now stuck with the actual solving of the quadratic. My math is quite poor, so any help would be greatly appreciated...
data Complex = C {
re :: Float,
im :: Float
} deriving Eq
-- Display complex numbers in the normal way
instance Show Complex where
show (C r i)
| i == 0 = show r
| r == 0 = show i++"i"
| r < 0 && i < 0 = show r ++ " - "++ show (C 0 (i*(-1)))
| r < 0 && i > 0 = show r ++ " + "++ show (C 0 i)
| r > 0 && i < 0 = show r ++ " - "++ show (C 0 (i*(-1)))
| r > 0 && i > 0 = show r ++ " + "++ show (C 0 i)
-- Define algebraic operations on complex numbers
instance Num Complex where
fromInteger n = C (fromInteger n) 0 -- tech reasons
(C a b) + (C x y) = C (a+x) (b+y)
(C a b) * (C x y) = C (a*x - b*y) (b*x + b*y)
negate (C a b) = C (-a) (-b)
instance Fractional Complex where
fromRational r = C (fromRational r) 0 -- tech reasons
recip (C a b) = C (a/((a^2)+(b^2))) (b/((a^2)+(b^2)))
root :: Complex -> Complex
root (C x y)
| y == 0 && x == 0 = C 0 0
| y == 0 && x > 0 = C (sqrt ( ( x + sqrt ( (x^2) + 0 ) ) / 2 ) ) 0
| otherwise = C (sqrt ( ( x + sqrt ( (x^2) + (y^2) ) ) / 2 ) ) ((y/(2*(sqrt ( ( x + sqrt ( (x^2) + (y^2) ) ) / 2 ) ) ) ) )
-- quadratic polynomial : a.x^2 + b.x + c
data Quad = Q {
aCoeff, bCoeff, cCoeff :: Complex
} deriving Eq
instance Show Quad where
show (Q a b c) = show a ++ "x^2 + " ++ show b ++ "x + " ++ show c
solve :: Quad -> (Complex, Complex)
solve (Q a b c) = STUCK!
EDIT: I seem to have missed out the whole point of using my own complex number datatype is to learn about custom datatypes. I'm well aware that i could use complex.data. Any help that could be given using my solution so far would be greatly appreciated.\
EDIT 2: It seems that my initial question was worded horribly. I'm aware that the quadratic formula will return both (or just the one) root to me. Where I am having trouble is returning these roots as a (complex, complex) tuple with the code above.
I'm well aware that I could use the built in quadratic functions as have been displayed below, but this is not the exercise. The idea behind the exercise, and creating ones own complex number data type, is to learn about custom data types.
Like newacct said, it's just the quadratic equation:
(-b +- sqrt(b^2 - 4ac)) / 2a
module QuadraticSolver where
import Data.Complex
data Quadratic a = Quadratic a a a deriving (Show, Eq)
roots :: (RealFloat a) => Quadratic a -> [ Complex a ]
roots (Quadratic a b c) =
if discriminant == 0
then [ numer / denom ]
else [ (numer + root_discriminant) / denom,
(numer - root_discriminant) / denom ]
where discriminant = (b*b - 4*a*c)
root_discriminant = if (discriminant < 0)
then 0 :+ (sqrt $ -discriminant)
else (sqrt discriminant) :+ 0
denom = 2*a :+ 0
numer = (negate b) :+ 0
in practice:
ghci> :l QuadraticSolver
Ok, modules loaded: QuadraticSolver.
ghci> roots (Quadratic 1 2 1)
[(-1.0) :+ 0.0]
ghci> roots (Quadratic 1 0 1)
[0.0 :+ 1.0,(-0.0) :+ (-1.0)]
And adapting to use your terms:
solve :: Quad -> (Complex, Complex)
solve (Q a b c) = ( sol (+), sol (-) )
where sol op = (op (negate b) $ root $ b*b - 4*a*c) / (2 * a)
Although I haven't tested that code
Since Haskell's sqrt can also handle complex numbers, rampion's solution can even be further simplified:
import Data.Complex
-- roots for quadratic equations with complex coefficients
croots :: (RealFloat a) =>
(Complex a) -> (Complex a) -> (Complex a) -> [Complex a]
croots a b c
| disc == 0 = [solution (+)]
| otherwise = [solution (+), solution (-)]
where disc = b*b - 4*a*c
solution plmi = plmi (-b) (sqrt disc) / (2*a)
-- roots for quadratic equations with real coefficients
roots :: (RealFloat a) => a -> a -> a -> [Complex a]
roots a b c = croots (a :+ 0) (b :+ 0) (c :+ 0)
You can also use this croots function with your own datatype, if you change the types to fit your implementation (and call your root function instead of sqrt).

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