[EMAIL PROTECTED] wrote:
Adrian Hey wrote:
-- Instances of GT are instances of Eq --
instance (GT map key, Eq a) => Eq (map a) where
map1 == map2 = assocsAscending map1 == assocsAscending map2
...
Overlapping instances for Eq [(key, a)]
arising from use of `==' at Test.hs:10:16-59
Matching instances:
instance (Eq a) => Eq [a] -- Defined in GHC.Base
instance (GT map key, Eq a) => Eq (map a) -- Defined at Test.hs:9:0
How can my new instance overlap with the old (ghc) instance unless
[] is also an instance of GT for some key type (which it isn't).
Could someone explain?
You are right in your explanation of the GHC behavior. Your instance
|Eq (map a)| indeed overlaps the `standard` instance |Eq [a]|. The
overlap may be easier to see if we write [a] as ([] a), which is what
it is, an application of the type constructor [] to the type variable
a. So, the type [a] (aka [] a) is a particular instance of the type
(map a), with `map' being []. This is the overlapping that GHC is
complaining about.
So if I understand correctly, it's complaining about a potential
overlap, not an actual overlap (there is no actual overlap until []
is made an instance of GT AFAICS).
Also, I suspect I'm still missing something important here, for
example I don't understand why, if it overlaps for [], it doesn't
overlap with other instances (like Maybe for example). Or am I
just not getting the error for Maybe because ghc stops after
the first error?
Another solution is replacing the general instance
instance (GT map key, Eq a) => Eq (map a) where
map1 == map2 = assocsAscending map1 == assocsAscending map2
with its instantiations, for all `maps' in question:
instance Eq a => Eq (Data.IntMap a) where ...
instance Eq a => Eq (Data.Map key a) where ...
instance Eq a => Eq (Data.IntSet a) where ...
This seems like the more attractive option if my current approach
is unworkable, but it seems strange that I should have to do
this.
Thanks
--
Adrian Hey
_______________________________________________
Haskell-Cafe mailing list
Haskell-Cafe@haskell.org
http://www.haskell.org/mailman/listinfo/haskell-cafe