haskellgenerics-sop

Case-matching on `NS` type


The NS type from sop-core creates an interesting conundrum. In S :: NS f xs -> NS f (x ': xs) where xs ~ '[] means that the argument to the S is inhabited. Yet Haskell's case matching forces me to match on it. Is there a resolution to this problem?

type T = NS I '[Int, String]

matchT :: T -> String
matchT = \case
  Z (I n) -> show n
  S (Z (I s)) -> s
  S (S _) -> error "FIXME" -- not reachable

If you remove that last case (which really shouldn't be necessary), Haskell complains "Pattern match(es) are non-exhaustive".


Solution

  • Use EmptyCase!

    matchT :: T -> String
    matchT = \case
      Z (I n) -> show n
      S (Z (I s)) -> s
      S (S impossible) -> case impossible of {}
    

    Real-world example