Before going any further!!!
For a more complete (and active) functional framework including most of the monads listed above, please check my other project: Language-Ext
csharp-monad
A C# library of monads and a full set of parser combinators based on the Haskell Parsec library.
Either<L, R>EitherStrict<L, R>IO<T>Option<T>OptionStrict<T>Parser<T>Reader<E,T>RWS<R,W,S,T>- Combined Reader/Writer/StateState<S,T>Try<T>Writer<W,T>
The library is stable, functional and pretty well tested.
NuGet https://www.nuget.org/packages/csharp-monad/
A note about laziness
All of the C# monads in this library (except for those ending in Strict) are either delegates or they are wrappers for delegates (as in the case of the Parser<T>). They all require invoking in one way or another to get to the underlying value. This could cause performance problems if you're not careful. For example, the Option<T> monad has Value() and HasValue() extension methods:
Option<T> option = from x in DoSomething()
from y in DoSomethingElse()
select x + y;
if( option.HasValue() )
{
return option.Value();
}HasValue() and Value() will both cause the LINQ expression above to be invoked. Therefore you end up doing the same computation twice. You can mitigate this by invoking the result once:
Option<T> option = from x in DoSomething()
from y in DoSomethingElse()
select x + y;
OptionResult<T> result = option(); // This invokes the bind function
if( result.HasValue )
{
return result.Value;
}Or by using the Memo() memoization extension method available on all of the non-strict monad types:
Func<OptionResult<T>> result = (from x in DoSomething()
from y in DoSomethingElse()
select x + y)
.Memo();
if( result().HasValue )
{
return result().Value;
}Or by either using the Match methods on each monad (see the documentation after this section):
Func<int> res = (from x in DoSomething()
from y in DoSomethingElse()
select x + y)
.Match(
Just: v => v * 10,
Nothing: 0
);Note that even Match uses laziness, but the testing for valid values is now encapsulated into a single expression. You would still need to be careful when using the result res.
All of these are valid methods, they're designed to fit the various scenarios in which you may need them. You may wonder why do this at all? The primary benefit of using laziness is that you can avoid doing calculations that aren't required, this allows you to build a more expression oriented system rather than the standard if-then-thatness of imperative programming.
You can always collapse the laziness by invoking the monad delegate, so you can have the best of both worlds.
Either monad
The Either monad represents values with two possibilities: a value of Left or Right.
Either is sometimes used to represent a value which is either correct or an error, by convention, Left is used to hold an error value Right is used to hold a correct value.
Either has a very close relationship to the Try monad (Left is Exception on the Try monad) and the Option monad (Left is Nothing). However, the Either monad won't capture exceptions and can represent a concrete value as an alternative. Either would primarily be used for known errors rather than exceptional ones.
Once the Either monad is in the Left state it cancels the monad bind function and returns immediately.
Example
First we set up some methods that return either a Left or a Right. In this case Two() returns a Right, and Error() returns a Left.
public Either<string, int> Two()
{
return () => 2;
}
public Either<string, int> Error()
{
return () => "Error!!";
}Below are some examples of using Either<L, R>. Note, whenever a Left is returned it cancels the entire bind operation, so any functions after the Left will not be processed.
var r =
from lhs in Two()
from rhs in Two()
select lhs+rhs;
Assert.True(r.IsRight() && r.Right() == 4);
var r =
from lhs in Two()
from mid in Error()
from rhs in Two()
select lhs+mid+rhs;
Assert.True(r.IsLeft() && r.Left() == "Error!!");You can also use the pattern matching methods to project the either value or to delegate to handlers.
Example
// Delegate with named properties
var unit =
(from lhs in Two()
from rhs in Two()
select lhs + rhs)
.Match(
Right: r => Assert.True(r == 4),
Left: l => Assert.False(true)
);
// Delegate without named properties
var unit =
(from lhs in Two()
from rhs in Two()
select lhs + rhs)
.Match(
right => Assert.True(right == 4),
left => Assert.False(true)
);
// Projection with named properties
var result =
(from lhs in Two()
from rhs in Two()
select lhs + rhs)
.Match(
Right: r => r * 2,
Left: l => 0
);
Assert.True(result == 8);
// Projection without named properties
var result =
(from lhs in Two()
from rhs in Two()
select lhs + rhs)
.Match(
r => r * 2,
l => 0
);
Assert.True(result == 8);IO monad
The IO monad may be seen as unnecessary in C# where everything has side-effects, but it can be useful for chaining IO calls and lazy-loading, however I think its main benefit is as a programmer warning of the potential non-repeatable nature of a method.
Example
private static IO<Unit> DeleteFile(string tmpFileName)
{
return () => Unit.Return( () => File.Delete(tmpFileName) ); // Unit.Return is used to wrap the 'void' return
}
private static IO<string> ReadFile(string tmpFileName)
{
return () => File.ReadAllText(tmpFileName);
}
private static IO<Unit> WriteFile(string tmpFileName, string data)
{
return () => Unit.Return( () => File.WriteAllText(tmpFileName, data) );
}
private static IO<string> GetTempFileName()
{
return () => Path.GetTempFileName();
}
string data = "Testing 123";
var result = from tmpFileName in GetTempFileName()
from _ in WriteFile(tmpFileName, data)
from dataFromFile in ReadFile(tmpFileName)
from __ in DeleteFile(tmpFileName)
select dataFromFile;
Assert.True(result.Invoke() == "Testing 123");Option monad
If you're thinking of returning null, don't. Use Option<T>. It works a bit like Nullable<T> but it works with reference types too and implements the monad bind function. The bind is cancelled as soon as Option<T>.Nothing is returned by any method. Option is also known as the Maybe monad.
result = from o in MaybeGetAnInt()
from o2 in Option<int>.Nothing
select o2;
public Option<int> MaybeGetAnInt()
{
var rnd = new Random();
return () =>
Math.Abs(rnd.Next() % 10) > 5
? rnd.ToOption()
: Option<int>.Nothing;
}You can check the result by looking at the HasValue() property, however each access to HasValue(), Value(), etc will re-invoke the option function, so it's best to match on the result, or call GetValueOrDefault.
var result = MaybeGetAnInt().Match(
Just: v => v * 10,
Nothing: 0
);Parsec
Based on the Haskell Parsec library, this monad allows composition of parsers. There is a whole library of parsers from reading a single character up to processing expressions and operator associativty. The library is very stable.
Roadmap for this feature:
- Error logging is buggy / needs some TLC
- More unit tests
- Floating point number parsers
- Speed improvements (the example below, which is pretty damn complex, can parse 800 lines of source in 750ms - which isn't bad, but can be improved)
- Implement the rest of the usefel parsers from the Parsec lib (almost everything you'll need is in the package already - check the static
Prim,TokandExhelpers - but it would be nice to have the full set)
Example
// Inspired by http://www.stephendiehl.com/llvm/
Parser<Term> exprlazy = null;
Parser<Term> expr = Prim.Lazy<Term>(() => exprlazy);
Func<Parser<Term>,Parser<ImmutableList<Term>>> many = Prim.Many;
Func<Parser<Term>,Parser<Term>> @try = Prim.Try;
var def = new Lang();
var lexer = Tok.MakeTokenParser<Term>(def);
var binops = BuildOperatorsTable<Term>(lexer);
// Lexer
var intlex = lexer.Integer;
var floatlex = lexer.Float;
var parens = lexer.Parens;
var commaSep = lexer.CommaSep;
var semiSep = lexer.SemiSep;
var identifier = lexer.Identifier;
var reserved = lexer.Reserved;
var reservedOp = lexer.ReservedOp;
var whiteSpace = lexer.WhiteSpace;
// Parser
var integer = from n in intlex
select new Integer(n) as Term;
var variable = from v in identifier
select new Var(v) as Term;
var manyargs = parens(from ts in many(variable)
select new Arguments(ts) as Term);
var commaSepExpr = parens(from cs in commaSep(expr)
select new Exprs(cs) as Term);
var function = from resv in reserved("def")
from name in identifier
from args in manyargs
from body in expr
select new Function(name, args, body) as Term;
var externFn = from resv in reserved("extern")
from name in identifier
from args in manyargs
select new Extern(name, args) as Term;
var call = from name in identifier
from args in commaSepExpr
select new Call(name, args as Exprs) as Term;
var subexpr = (from p in parens(expr)
select new Expression(p) as Term);
var factor = from f in @try(integer)
| @try(externFn)
| @try(function)
| @try(call)
| @try(variable)
| subexpr
select f;
var defn = from f in @try(externFn)
| @try(function)
| @try(expr)
select f;
var toplevel = from ts in many(
from fn in defn
from semi in reservedOp(";")
select fn
)
select ts;
exprlazy = Ex.BuildExpressionParser<Term>(binops, factor);
var text = @"def foo(x y) x+foo(y, 4);
def foo(x y) x+y*2;
def foo(x y) x+y;
extern sin(a);";
var result = toplevel.Parse(text);For the full version of this, including the definition of the operator table, see LexerTests.cs in the UnitTest project.
Reader
The Reader<E,T> monad is for passing an initial 'environment' state through the bind function, Each stage will recieve the same E environment reference (ideally you should make it immutable to be pure - it's not supposed to be a state monad).
Example
First let's set up a class that will hold our environment:
class Person
{
public string Name;
public string Surname;
}Now let's create a couple of methods that extract values from the reader monad.
private static Reader<Person, string> Name()
{
return env => env.Name;
}
private static Reader<Person, string> Surname()
{
return env => env.Surname;
}Next see how we can use those methods and the environment class (Person) in a monadic bind function.
var person = new Person { Name = "Joe", Surname = "Bloggs" };
var reader = from n in Name()
from s in Surname()
select n + " " + s;
Assert.True(reader(person) == "Joe Bloggs");Note how the person is passed to the reader at the end. That invokes the bind function using the environment.
Here's another example mixing both the underlying value 10 and the environment Person:
var person = new Person { Name = "Joe", Surname = "Bloggs" };
var initial = Reader.Return<Person,int>(10);
var reader = from x in initial
from p in Reader.Ask<Person>()
let nl = p.Name.Length
let sl = p.Surname.Length
select nl * sl * x;
Assert.True(reader(person) == 180);RWS
Reader / Writer / State monad
Documentation coming soon
Quick example below - note the API is likely to change
public class ReaderWriterStateTests
{
[Fact]
public void ReaderWriterStateTest1()
{
var world = RWS.Return<Env,string,App,int>(0);
var rws = (from init in world
from app in RWS.Get<Env,string,App>()
from env in world.Ask()
from x in Value(app.UsersLoggedIn, "Users logged in: " + app.UsersLoggedIn)
from y in Value(100, "System folder: " + env.SystemFolder)
from s in RWS.Put<Env,string,App>(new App { UsersLoggedIn = 35 })
from t in RWS.Tell<Env,string,App>("Process complete")
select x * y)
.Memo(new Env(), new App());
var res = rws();
Assert.True(res.Value == 3400);
Assert.True(res.State.UsersLoggedIn == 35);
Assert.True(res.Output.Count() == 3);
Assert.True(res.Output.First() == "Users logged in: 34");
Assert.True(res.Output.Skip(1).First() == "System folder: C:/Temp");
Assert.True(res.Output.Skip(2).First() == "Process complete");
}
public static RWS<Env,string,App,int> Value(int val, string log)
{
return (Env r, App s) => RWS.Tell<string,App,int>(val, log);
}
}
public class App
{
public int UsersLoggedIn = 34;
}
public class Env
{
public string SystemFolder = "C:/Temp";
}State
Pass in some initial state which can be 'mutated' through the bind function. In reality the state isn't mutated, as each stage returns a new instance. A StateResult<S,T> is used to facilitate the passing of state and the underlying monad value. State is the state, Value is the monadic value.
If you take a look at the example below, you should see that both the underlying int value and the string state are being manipulated in the same expression.
var first = State.Return<string,int>(10);
var second = State.Return<string,int>(3);
var third = State.Return<string,int>(5);
var fourth = State.Return<string,int>(100);
var sm = from x in first
from t in State.Get<string>( s => s + "yyy" )
from y in second
from s in State.Put("Hello " + (x * y) + t)
from z in third
from w in fourth
from s1 in State.Get<string>()
from s2 in State.Put( s1 + " " + (z * w) )
select x * y * z * w;
var res = sm(", World"); // Invoke with the initial state
Assert.True(res.State == "Hello 30, Worldyyy 500");
Assert.True(res.Value == 15000);Try monad
Used for computations which may fail or throw exceptions. Failure records information about the cause/location of the failure (in the Exception property). Failure values bypass the bound function. Useful for building computations from sequences of functions that may fail or using exception handling to structure error handling.
You can check if an exception was thrown by testing IsFaulted on the ErrorResult<T> returned from the invocation (or by using the Match methods).
Example
private Try<int> DoSomething(int value)
{
return () => value + 1;
}
private Try<int> DoSomethingError(int value)
{
return () =>
{
throw new Exception("Whoops");
};
}
private Try<int> DoNotEverEnterThisFunction(int value)
{
return () => return 10000;
}
var monad = (from val1 in DoSomething(10)
from val2 in DoSomethingError(val1)
from val3 in DoNotEverEnterThisFunction(val2)
select val3);
var result = monad();
Console.WriteLine(result.IsFaulted ? result.Exception.Message : "Success");Note, if you're using the Try<T> monad outside of a LINQ expression then you will need to append .Try() to safely invoke the wrapped function. i.e.
var value = DoSomethingError().Try();You can pattern match on the result to make it simpler:
var value = DoSomethingError()
.Match(
Success: v => v
Fail: err => ...
);Writer monad
Documentation coming soon
Here's a quick example
var res = (from a in LogNumber(3)
from b in LogNumber(5)
from _ in Writer.Tell("Gonna multiply these two")
select a * b)
.Memo();
Assert.True(res().Value == 15 && res().Output.Count() == 3);
Assert.True(res().Output.First() == "Got number: 3");
Assert.True(res().Output.Skip(1).First() == "Got number: 5");
Assert.True(res().Output.Skip(2).First() == "Gonna multiply these two");
private static Writer<string,int> LogNumber(int num)
{
return () => Writer.Tell(num, "Got number: " + num);
}