Document Type
Technical Report
Publication Title
University of Pennsylvania Department of Computer and Information Science Technical Report
Version
Final Published Version
Volume
MS-CIS-14-09
Publication Date
2014
Abstract
Haskell, as implemented in the Glasgow Haskell Compiler (GHC), is enriched with many extensions that support type-level programming, such as promoted datatypes, kind polymorphism, and type families. Yet, the expressiveness of the type-level language remains limited. It is missing many features present at the term level, including case expressions, anonymous functions, partially-applied functions, and let expressions. In this paper, we present an algorithm – with a proof of correctness – to encode these term-level constructs at the type level. Our approach is automated and capable of promoting a wide array of functions to type families.We also highlight and discuss those term-level features that are not promotable. In so doing, we offer a critique on GHC’s existing type system, showing what it is already capable of and where it may want improvement. We believe that delineating the mismatch between GHC’s term level and its type level is a key step toward supporting dependently typed programming.
We have implemented our approach as part of the singletons package, available online.
Citation
R. A. Eisenberg, J. Stolarek. Promoting Functions to Type Families in Haskell (extended version). University of Pennsylvania Technical Report MS-CIS-14-09, 2014.