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Haskell/List of topics

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Here is a non-exhaustive list of topics covered by the book modules (as of now, covering the first three chapters). Right now it is mostly meant as a tool to make it easier for contributors to visualize the structure of the book as a whole, but it is hoped that it will eventually evolve into a full-fledged study guide.

Haskell Basics
Old structure
  • Getting set up
    • Installation and start-up
  • Variables and functions
    • Introduction to variables and functions (with first contact with types)
    • Immutability of variables
  • Lists and tuples
    • Introduction to lists
    • List building with (:)
    • Introduction to tuples (with the first example of pattern matching)
  • Next steps
    • Source files
    • Introduction to control structures (if / case, with a teaser to PM)
    • Piece-wise function definition
    • Function composition
    • Let bindings
  • Type basics
    • Introduction / motivation
    • Simple examples (with a teaser to number classes)
    • Functional types
    • Introduction to polymorphic types
    • Type signatures
    • Type inference
  • Simple input and output
    • Introduction / motivation
    • Actions
    • Actions and types
    • IO trail pointers
New structure
  • Getting set up
    • Installation and start-up
    • GHCi as a calculator
  • Defining functions
    • Source files
    • Introduction to definitions (functions, variables), first contact with types
    • Examples only with Int
    • where clause, layout
    • Immutability of variables
  • Truth values (for defining more interesting functions)
    • Examples with booleans 1 == 2
    • Guards
    • More examples
  • Type basics
    • Introduction / motivation False < 2
    • Type signatures, type inference
    • Int, Bool, Function types
    • Introduction to polymorphic types, mention of numeric classes for overloading, Double for floating point numbers
  • Tuples and lists
    • Introduction to tuples (pattern matching) - useful for returning multiple results
    • Lists are head + tail, (:) and []
    • Pattern matching: (:) and [] can also be used on the left-hand side
  • Building a vocabulary
    • All syntactic pieces in place, explain that the reader now has to learn lots of types and functions
    • Example program, exercises!
    • Cheat sheet: Prelude types, Prelude functions, sorted by category. Each category comes with a short explanation / overview of the most important concepts / functions; link to subsequent chapters for more detailed explanations. Not sure how to organize this.
      • Functions
      • Lists
      • Strings
      • Input / Output
  • Working with lists
    • List comprehensions
  • Simple input and output
    • Introduction / motivation
    • Actions
    • Actions and types
    • IO trail pointers


Elementary Haskell
Old structure
  • Recursion
    • Introduction to recursion
    • List-based recursion (first example of PM on lists)
  • More about lists
    • Constructing and modifying lists (spiraling review, needs streamlining, teaser to currying)
    • Dot dot notation
    • Infinite lists (first mention of laziness)
    • head / tail
    • map (first mention of point-free style; introduces section-functions without commenting)
  • List processing
    • Folds (first data structure analysis, more discussions on laziness)
    • Scans
    • Filtering
    • List comprehension (maybe the PM example needs to be sweetened)
  • Type declarations
    • Introduction / motivation
    • data / constructor functions
    • Algebraic datatype deconstruction (heavy implicit PM usage)
    • type
  • Pattern matching
    • Detailed explanation of PM
    • Constructors and PM
    • Introduction to records
    • As-patterns
    • PM with literals
    • PM examples
  • Control structures
    • Weakly spiraling review of if (almost redundant)
    • Spiraling review of case (accounting for PM, comparing to piece-wise)
    • Guards
  • More on functions
    • let / where (seen as private function definitions)
    • Lambdas
    • Infix versus prefix (first explicit mention of the syntax variations)
  • Higher-order functions
    • Quicksort examples
    • Associativeness of type signatures (with a very demanding exercise)
    • Currying
New structure
  • Recursion
    • This might fit in basics, somewhere between the two modules on lists, maybe?
    • Introduction to recursion
    • List-based recursion
  • More on functions
    • It seems quite unnatural to have this and Control Structures only at the end of the chapter.
    • let / where (seen as private function definitions)
    • Lambdas (note that all pattern matching examples should ideally return to Pattern Matching)
    • Infix versus prefix (first explicit mention of the syntax variations)
  • More about lists
    • One of the existing list modules in Elementary might be merged away.
    • Dot dot notation
    • Infinite lists
    • map / filter (or maybe in basics, alongside comprehensions?)
    • Folds / Scans (first data structure analysis, more discussions on laziness)
  • Type declarations
    • Introduction / motivation
    • data / constructor functions
    • Algebraic datatype deconstruction
    • type
  • Pattern matching
    • Detailed explanation of PM
    • Constructors and PM
    • Introduction to records
    • As-patterns
    • PM with literals
    • PM examples
  • Control structures
    • This chapter makes a lot more sense with the new Basics
    • if / then / else and comparison to guards
    • case and comparison to piece-wise
  • Indentation
    • Fits with the nearby modules on syntax.
    • In fact, I can even see how a streamlined version of this could be merged into Control Structures
    • Layout
    • Conversion to C-style
  • Using GHCi effectively
Intermediate Haskell
Old structure
  • Modules
    • Introduction / motivation
    • Importing
    • Exporting
  • Indentation
    • Layout
    • Conversion to C-style
  • More on datatypes
    • Enumerations (without deriving context - first usage of deriving)
    • Records
    • Parametrized types (should focus on usage with constructors)
    • (newtype is missing)
    • Trees (and their map and fold)
    • map and fold for arbitrary datatypes
  • Class declarations
    • Classes
    • Deriving
    • Inheritance
    • Prelude classes (diagram only)
    • (desperately lacks discussion on numerical classes)
  • Classes and types
    • Type constraints (on signatures, constructors and instances. Mentions newtype)
    • (stub-like module)
  • Keeping track of state
    • (empty, should be deleted?)
New structure
  • Modules
    • Introduction / motivation
    • Importing
    • Exporting
  • Building a standalone application
    • Currently in Haskell in Practice/General Practices. This definitely should be in the Beginner's trail.
  • Higher-order functions
    • Having this module tucked at the end of Elementary felt kinda restraining
    • Quicksort examples
    • Associativeness of type signatures (with a very demanding exercise)
    • Currying
  • More on datatypes
    • Enumerations (without deriving context - first usage of deriving)
    • Records
    • Parametrized types (should focus on usage with constructors)
    • (newtype is missing)
  • Other data structures
    • Trees (and their map and fold)
    • map and fold for arbitrary datatypes (temporary location)
  • Classes
    • The division between the current modules on classes seem arbitrary, so this proposal merges them.
    • Class declarations
    • Inheritance
    • Type constraints (on signatures, constructors and instances. Mentions newtype)
    • Deriving (note the change in topic order)
  • Standard classes
    • The idea is expanding the diagram currently at Class Declarations to a full-fledged module.
    • This might be a more natural location for exploration of Prelude types than the cheat sheets of Haskell Basics
    • Also, derivation might fit better if moved here as well (although that might make the module too long)

Note: Keeping track of state should be deleted, there is probably no good reason to attempt such a module without a proper discussion of monads.