Hindley Milner Definitions

The hm-def package allows you to enforce runtime type checking for JavaScript functions using Haskell-alike Hindley Milner type signatures.

The hm-def is build on top of sanctuary-def and basically just a syntax sugar for it.

Install

$ yarn add hm-def
# or
$ npm install hm-def

Usage

First, you need to create a function definition function.

import $ from 'sanctuary-def';
import HMD from 'hm-def';

const def = HMD.create({
  checkTypes: true,
  env: $.env,
});

Then instead of this:

function sum(a, b) {
  return a + b;
}

you can write:

const sum = def(
  'sum :: Number -> Number -> Number',
  (a, b) => a + b
);

And the calls to sum will be type checked:

sum(42, 13);
// 55

sum('42', 13);
// TypeError: Invalid value
//
// foo :: Number -> Number -> Number
//        ^^^^^^
//          1
//
// 1)  "42" :: String
//
// The value at position 1 is not a member of ‘Number’.

Arrays

To denote an array you enclose type of its elements in square brackets:

const magnitude = def(
  'magnitude :: [Number] -> Number',
  xs => Math.sqrt(xs.reduce((acc, x) => acc + x * x, 0))
);

magnitude([3, 4, 0]);
// 5

magnitude(3, 4, 0);
// TypeError: Function applied to too many arguments
//
// magnitude :: Array Number -> Number
//
// ‘magnitude’ expected at most one argument but received three arguments.

Actually it’s just a shortcut to a more general:

const magnitude = def(
  'magnitude :: Array Number -> Number',
  xs => Math.sqrt(xs.reduce((acc, x) => acc + x * x, 0))
);

Where Array is a regular unary type provided by the default environment. It takes a single type argument which describes the type of array’s elements.

Records

To denote objects with a known schema record syntax is used:

const minMax = def(
  'minMax :: [Number] -> { min :: Number, max :: Number }',
  xs => xs.reduce(
    (acc, x) => ({
      min: Math.min(x, acc.min),
      max: Math.max(x, acc.max),
    }),
    { min: Infinity, max: -Infinity }
  )
);

minMax([1, 4, 6, 3, 4, 5, -3, 4]);
// { min: -3, max: 6 }

Maps

To describe a map of homogenous data you can use StrMap type:

const occurrences = def(
  'occurrences :: [String] -> StrMap Number',
  xs => xs.reduce(
    (acc, x) => {
      // a bit of dirty local mutation
      acc[x] = (acc[x] || 0) + 1;
      return acc;
    },
    {}
  )
);

occurrences(['foo', 'bar', 'bar', 'baz', 'bar', 'qux', 'foo']);
// {
//   foo: 2,
//   bar: 3,
//   baz: 1,
//   qux: 1,
// }

Types available

You pass type definitions with env option of HMD.create. $.env from sanctuary-def provides type info for all built-in types:

• AnyFunction
• Arguments
• Array
• Boolean
• Date
• Error
• Null
• Number
• Object
• RegExp
• StrMap
• String
• Undefined

You would likely to add your own application domain types. See documentation of type constructors to learn how.

Type constraints

For most generic functions you’d like to add type constraints. Consider the function:

const concat = def(
  'concat :: a -> a -> a',
  (y, x) => x.concat(y)
);

concat([3, 4], [1, 2]);
// [1, 2, 3, 4]

concat(' world', 'Hello')
// 'Hello world'

concat(42, 13)
// TypeError: x.concat is not a function

The call to the function crashed on invalid argument types post factum. We can place a type constraint on a to fail in advance with a more clear message.

Type constraints are done with type classes. There are many type classes provided by sanctuary-type-classes and you can create your own.

To use HM definitions with type class constaints you should provide typeClasses option with classes you’d like to use later:

import $ from 'sanctuary-def';
import Z from 'sanctuary-type-classes';
import HMD from 'hm-def';

const def = HMD.create({
  checkTypes: true,
  env: $.env,
  typeClasses: [
    // ...
    Z.Functor,
    Z.Semigroup,
    // ...
  ],
});

Then:

const concat = def(
  'concat :: Semigroup a => a -> a -> a',
  (y, x) => x.concat(y)
);

concat([3, 4], [1, 2]);
// [1, 2, 3, 4]

concat(' world', 'Hello')
// 'Hello world'

concat(42, 13)
// TypeError: Type-class constraint violation
//
// foo :: Semigroup a => a -> a -> a
//        ^^^^^^^^^^^    ^
//                       1
//
// 1)  42 :: Number
//
// ‘foo’ requires ‘a’ to satisfy the Semigroup type-class constraint; the value
// at position 1 does not.

Type constructors

Added in v0.3.0

If you need UnaryType or BinaryType of something you should add them into env with $.Unknown types in it. Then hm-def will recreate specific types when you will define your functions.

const Either = $.BinaryType(
  'my-package/Either',
  'http://example.com/my-package#Either',
  x => x != null && x['@@type'] === 'my-package/Either'
  either => (either.isLeft ? [either.value] : []),
  either => (either.isRight ? [either.value] : [])
);
// Either is a function `Either :: Type -> Type -> Type`,

const def = HMD.create({
  checkTypes: true,
  env: $.env.concat([
    Either($.Unknown, $.Unknown),
  ]),
});

// Now we can just define functions as usual:
const foo = def(
  'foo :: Either Number String -> Either String String',
  (x) => x.chain((val) => {
    if (val >= 3) return S.Either.Right('It greater than or equal 3');
    return S.Either.Left('It less than 3');
  })
);

foo(S.Either.Right(4)); // Either.Right('It greater than or equal 3')
foo(S.Either.Right(1)); // Either.Left('It less than 3')
foo(S.Either.Right('hello')); // TypeError: The value at position 1 is not a member of ‘Number’
foo(1); // TypeError: The value at position 1 is not a member of ‘Either Number String’

Currying

Thanks to sanctuary-def functions defined with def are automatically curried. You haven’t to use R.curry everywhere.

const sum = def(
  'sum :: Number -> Number -> Number',
  (a, b) => a + b
);

const add42 = sum(42);
// add42 is a partially applied function

add42(13);
// 55

Although while programming in point-free style it is often more desirable to curry functions by hand. In these cases you can use def.curried and provide a manually curried function:

import R from 'ramda';

const rejectValues = def.curried(
  'rejectValues :: [a] -> [a] -> [a]',
  badValues => filterable => R.reject(x => R.constaints(x, badValues), filterable)
);

// or the same in point-free fashion
const rejectValues = def.curried(
  'rejectValues :: [a] -> [a] -> [a]',
  badValues => R.reject(R.contains(R.__, badValues))
);

const rejectAbuse = rejectValues(['foo', 'qux']);

rejectAbuse([
  'qux',
  'mux',
  'bar',
  'foo',
  'baz',
]);
// ['mux', 'bar', 'baz']

Changelog

0.3.0

• Update sanctuary-def dependency to version 0.14.0

• BREAKING ❗ All Unary/Binary Types with variable types inside should be specified in env with $.Unknown types. Then, when you define functions, hm-def will recreate specific types for these functions. (See more)[#type-constructors]

  Since version 0.10.0 of sanctuary-def environments must be of type Array Type. So it must not contain type constructors anymore. (sanctuary-js/sanctuary-def#124)

0.2.1

• Update ramda dependency to version 0.24.1

0.2.0

• Add def.curried
• Fix errors when using some non-nullary types like built-in Array or StrMap

License

MIT