Reading file into types - Haskell

Question

Right now I have two types:

type Rating = (String, Int)

type Film = (String, String, Int, [Rating])

I have a file that has this data in it

Answer 1

Is this homework?

You might find these functions useful:

• readFile :: FilePath -> IO String
• lines :: String -> [String]
• break :: (a -> Bool) -> [a] -> ([a], [a])
• dropWhile :: (a -> Bool) -> [a] -> [a]
• null :: [a] -> Bool
• read :: Read a => String -> a

Remember that String is the same as [Char].

Some clues:

• dropWhile null will get rid of empty lines from the start of a list
• break null will split a list into the leading run of non-empty lines, and the rest of the list

Answer 2

Haskell provides a unique way of sketching out your approach. Begin with what you know

module Main where

type Rating = (String, Int)
type Film = (String, String, Int, [Rating])

main :: IO ()
main = do
  films <- readFilms "ratings.dat"
  print films

Attempting to load this program into ghci will produce

films.hs:8:12: Not in scope: `readFilms'

It needs to know what readFilms is, so add just enough code to keep moving.

readFilms = undefined

It is a function that should do something related to Film data. Reload this code (with the :reload command or :r for short) to get

films.hs:9:3:
    Ambiguous type variable `a0' in the constraint:
      (Show a0) arising from the use of `print'
    ...

The type of print is

Prelude> :t print
print :: Show a => a -> IO ()

In other words, print takes a single argument that, informally, knows how to show itself (that is, convert its contents to a string) and creates an I/O action that when executed outputs that string. It’s more-or-less how you expect print to work:

Prelude> print 3
3
Prelude> print "hi"
"hi"

We know that we want to print the Film data from the file, but, although good, ghc can’t read our minds. But after adding a type hint

readFilms :: FilePath -> Film
readFilms = undefined

we get a new error.

films.hs:8:12:
    Couldn't match expected type `IO t0'
                with actual type `(String, String, Int, [Rating])'
    Expected type: IO t0
      Actual type: Film
    In the return type of a call of `readFilms'
    In a stmt of a 'do' expression: films <- readFilms "ratings.dat"

The error tells you that the compiler is confused about your story. You said readFilms should give it back a Film, but the way you called it in main, the computer should have to first perform some I/O and then give back Film data.

In Haskell, this is the difference between a pure string, say "JamieB", and a side effect, say reading your input from the keyboard after prompting you to input your Stack Overflow username.

So now we know we can sketch readFilms as

readFilms :: FilePath -> IO Film
readFilms = undefined

and the code compiles! (But we can’t yet run it.)

To dig down another layer, pretend that the name of a single movie is the only data in ratings.dat and put placeholders everywhere else to keep the typechecker happy.

readFilms :: FilePath -> IO Film
readFilms path = do
  alldata <- readFile path
  return (alldata, "", 0, [])

This version compiles, and you can even run it by entering main at the ghci prompt.

In dave4420’s answer are great hints about other functions to use. Think of the method above as putting together a jigsaw puzzle where the individual pieces are functions. For your program to be correct, all the types must fit together. You can make progress toward your final working program by taking little babysteps as above, and the typechecker will let you know if you have a mistake in your sketch.

Things to figure out:

• How do you convert the whole blob of input to individual lines?
• How do you figure out whether the line your program is examining is a title, a director, and so on?
• How do you convert the year in your file (a String) to an Int to cooperate with your definition of Film?
• How do you skip blank or empty lines?
• How do you make readFilms accumulate and return a list of Film data?

Answer 3

Haskell has a great way of using the types to find the right function. For instance: In Gregs answer, he wants you to figure out (among other things) how to convert the year of the film from a String to an Int. Well, you need a function. What should be the type of that function? It takes a String and returns an Int, so the type should be String -> Int. Once you have that, go to Hoogle and enter that type. This will give you a list of functions with similar types. The function you need actually has a slightly different type - Read a => String -> a - so it is a bit down the list, but guessing a type and then scanning the resulting list is often a very useful strategy.