GHC.OldList

This legacy module provides access to the list-specialised operations of Data.List. This module may go away again in future GHC versions and is provided as transitional tool to access some of the list-specialised operations that had to be generalised due to the implementation of the Foldable/Traversable-in-Prelude Proposal (FTP).

If the operations needed are available in GHC.List, it's recommended to avoid importing this module and use GHC.List instead for now.

Since: base-4.8.0.0

Basic functions

(++) :: [a] -> [a] -> [a] infixr 5

Append two lists, i.e.,

[x1, ..., xm] ++ [y1, ..., yn] == [x1, ..., xm, y1, ..., yn]
[x1, ..., xm] ++ [y1, ...] == [x1, ..., xm, y1, ...]

If the first list is not finite, the result is the first list.

WARNING: This function takes linear time in the number of elements of the first list.

head :: HasCallStack => [a] -> a

\(\mathcal{O}(1)\). Extract the first element of a list, which must be non-empty.

>>> head [1, 2, 3]
1
>>> head [1..]
1
>>> head []
*** Exception: Prelude.head: empty list

WARNING: This function is partial. You can use case-matching, uncons or listToMaybe instead.

last :: HasCallStack => [a] -> a

\(\mathcal{O}(n)\). Extract the last element of a list, which must be finite and non-empty.

>>> last [1, 2, 3]
3
>>> last [1..]
* Hangs forever *
>>> last []
*** Exception: Prelude.last: empty list

WARNING: This function is partial. You can use reverse with case-matching, uncons or listToMaybe instead.

tail :: HasCallStack => [a] -> [a]

\(\mathcal{O}(1)\). Extract the elements after the head of a list, which must be non-empty.

>>> tail [1, 2, 3]
[2,3]
>>> tail [1]
[]
>>> tail []
*** Exception: Prelude.tail: empty list

WARNING: This function is partial. You can use case-matching or uncons instead.

init :: HasCallStack => [a] -> [a]

\(\mathcal{O}(n)\). Return all the elements of a list except the last one. The list must be non-empty.

>>> init [1, 2, 3]
[1,2]
>>> init [1]
[]
>>> init []
*** Exception: Prelude.init: empty list

WARNING: This function is partial. You can use reverse with case-matching or uncons instead.

uncons :: [a] -> Maybe (a, [a])

\(\mathcal{O}(1)\). Decompose a list into its head and tail.

• If the list is empty, returns Nothing.
• If the list is non-empty, returns Just (x, xs), where x is the head of the list and xs its tail.

>>> uncons []
Nothing
>>> uncons [1]
Just (1,[])
>>> uncons [1, 2, 3]
Just (1,[2,3])

Since: base-4.8.0.0

singleton :: a -> [a]

Produce singleton list.

>>> singleton True
[True]

Since: base-4.15.0.0

null :: [a] -> Bool

\(\mathcal{O}(1)\). Test whether a list is empty.

>>> null []
True
>>> null [1]
False
>>> null [1..]
False

length :: [a] -> Int

\(\mathcal{O}(n)\). length returns the length of a finite list as an Int. It is an instance of the more general genericLength, the result type of which may be any kind of number.

>>> length []
0
>>> length ['a', 'b', 'c']
3
>>> length [1..]
* Hangs forever *

List transformations

map :: (a -> b) -> [a] -> [b]

\(\mathcal{O}(n)\). map f xs is the list obtained by applying f to each element of xs, i.e.,

map f [x1, x2, ..., xn] == [f x1, f x2, ..., f xn]
map f [x1, x2, ...] == [f x1, f x2, ...]

>>> map (+1) [1, 2, 3]
[2,3,4]

reverse :: [a] -> [a]

reverse xs returns the elements of xs in reverse order. xs must be finite.

>>> reverse []
[]
>>> reverse [42]
[42]
>>> reverse [2,5,7]
[7,5,2]
>>> reverse [1..]
* Hangs forever *

intersperse :: a -> [a] -> [a]

\(\mathcal{O}(n)\). The intersperse function takes an element and a list and `intersperses' that element between the elements of the list. For example,

>>> intersperse ',' "abcde"
"a,b,c,d,e"

intercalate :: [a] -> [[a]] -> [a]

intercalate xs xss is equivalent to (concat (intersperse xs xss)). It inserts the list xs in between the lists in xss and concatenates the result.

>>> intercalate ", " ["Lorem", "ipsum", "dolor"]
"Lorem, ipsum, dolor"

transpose :: [[a]] -> [[a]]

The transpose function transposes the rows and columns of its argument. For example,

>>> transpose [[1,2,3],[4,5,6]]
[[1,4],[2,5],[3,6]]

If some of the rows are shorter than the following rows, their elements are skipped:

>>> transpose [[10,11],[20],[],[30,31,32]]
[[10,20,30],[11,31],[32]]

For this reason the outer list must be finite; otherwise transpose hangs:

>>> transpose (repeat [])
* Hangs forever *

subsequences :: [a] -> [[a]]

The subsequences function returns the list of all subsequences of the argument.

>>> subsequences "abc"
["","a","b","ab","c","ac","bc","abc"]

This function is productive on infinite inputs:

>>> take 8 $ subsequences ['a'..]
["","a","b","ab","c","ac","bc","abc"]

permutations :: [a] -> [[a]]

The permutations function returns the list of all permutations of the argument.

>>> permutations "abc"
["abc","bac","cba","bca","cab","acb"]

The permutations function is maximally lazy: for each n, the value of permutations xs starts with those permutations that permute take n xs and keep drop n xs.

This function is productive on infinite inputs:

>>> take 6 $ map (take 3) $ permutations ['a'..]
["abc","bac","cba","bca","cab","acb"]

Note that the order of permutations is not lexicographic. It satisfies the following property:

map (take n) (take (product [1..n]) (permutations ([1..n] ++ undefined))) == permutations [1..n]

Reducing lists (folds)

foldl :: forall a b. (b -> a -> b) -> b -> [a] -> b

foldl, applied to a binary operator, a starting value (typically the left-identity of the operator), and a list, reduces the list using the binary operator, from left to right:

foldl f z [x1, x2, ..., xn] == (...((z `f` x1) `f` x2) `f`...) `f` xn

The list must be finite.

>>> foldl (+) 0 [1..4]
10
>>> foldl (+) 42 []
42
>>> foldl (-) 100 [1..4]
90
>>> foldl (\reversedString nextChar -> nextChar : reversedString) "foo" ['a', 'b', 'c', 'd']
"dcbafoo"
>>> foldl (+) 0 [1..]
* Hangs forever *

foldl' :: forall a b. (b -> a -> b) -> b -> [a] -> b

A strict version of foldl.

foldl1 :: HasCallStack => (a -> a -> a) -> [a] -> a

foldl1 is a variant of foldl that has no starting value argument, and thus must be applied to non-empty lists. Note that unlike foldl, the accumulated value must be of the same type as the list elements.

>>> foldl1 (+) [1..4]
10
>>> foldl1 (+) []
*** Exception: Prelude.foldl1: empty list
>>> foldl1 (-) [1..4]
-8
>>> foldl1 (&&) [True, False, True, True]
False
>>> foldl1 (||) [False, False, True, True]
True
>>> foldl1 (+) [1..]
* Hangs forever *

foldl1' :: HasCallStack => (a -> a -> a) -> [a] -> a

A strict version of foldl1.

foldr :: (a -> b -> b) -> b -> [a] -> b

foldr, applied to a binary operator, a starting value (typically the right-identity of the operator), and a list, reduces the list using the binary operator, from right to left:

foldr f z [x1, x2, ..., xn] == x1 `f` (x2 `f` ... (xn `f` z)...)

foldr1 :: HasCallStack => (a -> a -> a) -> [a] -> a

foldr1 is a variant of foldr that has no starting value argument, and thus must be applied to non-empty lists. Note that unlike foldr, the accumulated value must be of the same type as the list elements.

>>> foldr1 (+) [1..4]
10
>>> foldr1 (+) []
*** Exception: Prelude.foldr1: empty list
>>> foldr1 (-) [1..4]
-2
>>> foldr1 (&&) [True, False, True, True]
False
>>> foldr1 (||) [False, False, True, True]
True
>>> force $ foldr1 (+) [1..]
*** Exception: stack overflow

Special folds

concat :: [[a]] -> [a]

Concatenate a list of lists.

>>> concat []
[]
>>> concat [[42]]
[42]
>>> concat [[1,2,3], [4,5], [6], []]
[1,2,3,4,5,6]

concatMap :: (a -> [b]) -> [a] -> [b]

Map a function returning a list over a list and concatenate the results. concatMap can be seen as the composition of concat and map.

concatMap f xs == (concat . map f) xs

>>> concatMap (\i -> [-i,i]) []
[]
>>> concatMap (\i -> [-i,i]) [1,2,3]
[-1,1,-2,2,-3,3]

and :: [Bool] -> Bool

and returns the conjunction of a Boolean list. For the result to be True, the list must be finite; False, however, results from a False value at a finite index of a finite or infinite list.

>>> and []
True
>>> and [True]
True
>>> and [False]
False
>>> and [True, True, False]
False
>>> and (False : repeat True) -- Infinite list [False,True,True,True,True,True,True...
False
>>> and (repeat True)
* Hangs forever *

or :: [Bool] -> Bool

or returns the disjunction of a Boolean list. For the result to be False, the list must be finite; True, however, results from a True value at a finite index of a finite or infinite list.

>>> or []
False
>>> or [True]
True
>>> or [False]
False
>>> or [True, True, False]
True
>>> or (True : repeat False) -- Infinite list [True,False,False,False,False,False,False...
True
>>> or (repeat False)
* Hangs forever *

any :: (a -> Bool) -> [a] -> Bool

Applied to a predicate and a list, any determines if any element of the list satisfies the predicate. For the result to be False, the list must be finite; True, however, results from a True value for the predicate applied to an element at a finite index of a finite or infinite list.

>>> any (> 3) []
False
>>> any (> 3) [1,2]
False
>>> any (> 3) [1,2,3,4,5]
True
>>> any (> 3) [1..]
True
>>> any (> 3) [0, -1..]
* Hangs forever *

all :: (a -> Bool) -> [a] -> Bool

Applied to a predicate and a list, all determines if all elements of the list satisfy the predicate. For the result to be True, the list must be finite; False, however, results from a False value for the predicate applied to an element at a finite index of a finite or infinite list.

>>> all (> 3) []
True
>>> all (> 3) [1,2]
False
>>> all (> 3) [1,2,3,4,5]
False
>>> all (> 3) [1..]
False
>>> all (> 3) [4..]
* Hangs forever *

sum :: Num a => [a] -> a

The sum function computes the sum of a finite list of numbers.

>>> sum []
0
>>> sum [42]
42
>>> sum [1..10]
55
>>> sum [4.1, 2.0, 1.7]
7.8
>>> sum [1..]
* Hangs forever *

product :: Num a => [a] -> a

The product function computes the product of a finite list of numbers.

>>> product []
1
>>> product [42]
42
>>> product [1..10]
3628800
>>> product [4.1, 2.0, 1.7]
13.939999999999998
>>> product [1..]
* Hangs forever *

maximum :: (Ord a, HasCallStack) => [a] -> a

maximum returns the maximum value from a list, which must be non-empty, finite, and of an ordered type. It is a special case of maximumBy, which allows the programmer to supply their own comparison function.

>>> maximum []
*** Exception: Prelude.maximum: empty list
>>> maximum [42]
42
>>> maximum [55, -12, 7, 0, -89]
55
>>> maximum [1..]
* Hangs forever *

minimum :: (Ord a, HasCallStack) => [a] -> a

minimum returns the minimum value from a list, which must be non-empty, finite, and of an ordered type. It is a special case of minimumBy, which allows the programmer to supply their own comparison function.

>>> minimum []
*** Exception: Prelude.minimum: empty list
>>> minimum [42]
42
>>> minimum [55, -12, 7, 0, -89]
-89
>>> minimum [1..]
* Hangs forever *

Building lists

Scans

scanl :: (b -> a -> b) -> b -> [a] -> [b]

\(\mathcal{O}(n)\). scanl is similar to foldl, but returns a list of successive reduced values from the left:

scanl f z [x1, x2, ...] == [z, z `f` x1, (z `f` x1) `f` x2, ...]

Note that

last (scanl f z xs) == foldl f z xs

>>> scanl (+) 0 [1..4]
[0,1,3,6,10]
>>> scanl (+) 42 []
[42]
>>> scanl (-) 100 [1..4]
[100,99,97,94,90]
>>> scanl (\reversedString nextChar -> nextChar : reversedString) "foo" ['a', 'b', 'c', 'd']
["foo","afoo","bafoo","cbafoo","dcbafoo"]
>>> scanl (+) 0 [1..]
* Hangs forever *

scanl' :: (b -> a -> b) -> b -> [a] -> [b]

\(\mathcal{O}(n)\). A strict version of scanl.

scanl1 :: (a -> a -> a) -> [a] -> [a]

\(\mathcal{O}(n)\). scanl1 is a variant of scanl that has no starting value argument:

scanl1 f [x1, x2, ...] == [x1, x1 `f` x2, ...]

>>> scanl1 (+) [1..4]
[1,3,6,10]
>>> scanl1 (+) []
[]
>>> scanl1 (-) [1..4]
[1,-1,-4,-8]
>>> scanl1 (&&) [True, False, True, True]
[True,False,False,False]
>>> scanl1 (||) [False, False, True, True]
[False,False,True,True]
>>> scanl1 (+) [1..]
* Hangs forever *

scanr :: (a -> b -> b) -> b -> [a] -> [b]

\(\mathcal{O}(n)\). scanr is the right-to-left dual of scanl. Note that the order of parameters on the accumulating function are reversed compared to scanl. Also note that

head (scanr f z xs) == foldr f z xs.

>>> scanr (+) 0 [1..4]
[10,9,7,4,0]
>>> scanr (+) 42 []
[42]
>>> scanr (-) 100 [1..4]
[98,-97,99,-96,100]
>>> scanr (\nextChar reversedString -> nextChar : reversedString) "foo" ['a', 'b', 'c', 'd']
["abcdfoo","bcdfoo","cdfoo","dfoo","foo"]
>>> force $ scanr (+) 0 [1..]
*** Exception: stack overflow

scanr1 :: (a -> a -> a) -> [a] -> [a]

\(\mathcal{O}(n)\). scanr1 is a variant of scanr that has no starting value argument.

>>> scanr1 (+) [1..4]
[10,9,7,4]
>>> scanr1 (+) []
[]
>>> scanr1 (-) [1..4]
[-2,3,-1,4]
>>> scanr1 (&&) [True, False, True, True]
[False,False,True,True]
>>> scanr1 (||) [True, True, False, False]
[True,True,False,False]
>>> force $ scanr1 (+) [1..]
*** Exception: stack overflow

Accumulating maps

mapAccumL :: (acc -> x -> (acc, y)) -> acc -> [x] -> (acc, [y])

The mapAccumL function behaves like a combination of map and foldl; it applies a function to each element of a list, passing an accumulating parameter from left to right, and returning a final value of this accumulator together with the new list.

mapAccumR :: (acc -> x -> (acc, y)) -> acc -> [x] -> (acc, [y])

The mapAccumR function behaves like a combination of map and foldr; it applies a function to each element of a list, passing an accumulating parameter from right to left, and returning a final value of this accumulator together with the new list.

Infinite lists

iterate :: (a -> a) -> a -> [a]

iterate f x returns an infinite list of repeated applications of f to x:

iterate f x == [x, f x, f (f x), ...]

Note that iterate is lazy, potentially leading to thunk build-up if the consumer doesn't force each iterate. See iterate' for a strict variant of this function.

>>> take 10 $ iterate not True
[True,False,True,False...
>>> take 10 $ iterate (+3) 42
[42,45,48,51,54,57,60,63...

iterate' :: (a -> a) -> a -> [a]

iterate' is the strict version of iterate.

It forces the result of each application of the function to weak head normal form (WHNF) before proceeding.

repeat :: a -> [a]

repeat x is an infinite list, with x the value of every element.

>>> repeat 17
[17,17,17,17,17,17,17,17,17...

replicate :: Int -> a -> [a]

replicate n x is a list of length n with x the value of every element. It is an instance of the more general genericReplicate, in which n may be of any integral type.

>>> replicate 0 True
[]
>>> replicate (-1) True
[]
>>> replicate 4 True
[True,True,True,True]

cycle :: HasCallStack => [a] -> [a]

cycle ties a finite list into a circular one, or equivalently, the infinite repetition of the original list. It is the identity on infinite lists.

>>> cycle []
*** Exception: Prelude.cycle: empty list
>>> cycle [42]
[42,42,42,42,42,42,42,42,42,42...
>>> cycle [2, 5, 7]
[2,5,7,2,5,7,2,5,7,2,5,7...

Unfolding

unfoldr :: (b -> Maybe (a, b)) -> b -> [a]

The unfoldr function is a `dual' to foldr: while foldr reduces a list to a summary value, unfoldr builds a list from a seed value. The function takes the element and returns Nothing if it is done producing the list or returns Just (a,b), in which case, a is a prepended to the list and b is used as the next element in a recursive call. For example,

iterate f == unfoldr (\x -> Just (x, f x))

In some cases, unfoldr can undo a foldr operation:

unfoldr f' (foldr f z xs) == xs

if the following holds:

f' (f x y) = Just (x,y)
f' z       = Nothing

A simple use of unfoldr:

>>> unfoldr (\b -> if b == 0 then Nothing else Just (b, b-1)) 10
[10,9,8,7,6,5,4,3,2,1]

Sublists

Extracting sublists

take :: Int -> [a] -> [a]

take n, applied to a list xs, returns the prefix of xs of length n, or xs itself if n >= length xs.

>>> take 5 "Hello World!"
"Hello"
>>> take 3 [1,2,3,4,5]
[1,2,3]
>>> take 3 [1,2]
[1,2]
>>> take 3 []
[]
>>> take (-1) [1,2]
[]
>>> take 0 [1,2]
[]

It is an instance of the more general genericTake, in which n may be of any integral type.

drop :: Int -> [a] -> [a]

drop n xs returns the suffix of xs after the first n elements, or [] if n >= length xs.

>>> drop 6 "Hello World!"
"World!"
>>> drop 3 [1,2,3,4,5]
[4,5]
>>> drop 3 [1,2]
[]
>>> drop 3 []
[]
>>> drop (-1) [1,2]
[1,2]
>>> drop 0 [1,2]
[1,2]

It is an instance of the more general genericDrop, in which n may be of any integral type.

splitAt :: Int -> [a] -> ([a], [a])

splitAt n xs returns a tuple where first element is xs prefix of length n and second element is the remainder of the list:

>>> splitAt 6 "Hello World!"
("Hello ","World!")
>>> splitAt 3 [1,2,3,4,5]
([1,2,3],[4,5])
>>> splitAt 1 [1,2,3]
([1],[2,3])
>>> splitAt 3 [1,2,3]
([1,2,3],[])
>>> splitAt 4 [1,2,3]
([1,2,3],[])
>>> splitAt 0 [1,2,3]
([],[1,2,3])
>>> splitAt (-1) [1,2,3]
([],[1,2,3])

It is equivalent to (take n xs, drop n xs) when n is not _|_ (splitAt _|_ xs = _|_). splitAt is an instance of the more general genericSplitAt, in which n may be of any integral type.

takeWhile :: (a -> Bool) -> [a] -> [a]

takeWhile, applied to a predicate p and a list xs, returns the longest prefix (possibly empty) of xs of elements that satisfy p.

>>> takeWhile (< 3) [1,2,3,4,1,2,3,4]
[1,2]
>>> takeWhile (< 9) [1,2,3]
[1,2,3]
>>> takeWhile (< 0) [1,2,3]
[]

dropWhile :: (a -> Bool) -> [a] -> [a]

dropWhile p xs returns the suffix remaining after takeWhile p xs.

>>> dropWhile (< 3) [1,2,3,4,5,1,2,3]
[3,4,5,1,2,3]
>>> dropWhile (< 9) [1,2,3]
[]
>>> dropWhile (< 0) [1,2,3]
[1,2,3]

dropWhileEnd :: (a -> Bool) -> [a] -> [a]

The dropWhileEnd function drops the largest suffix of a list in which the given predicate holds for all elements. For example:

>>> dropWhileEnd isSpace "foo\n"
"foo"

>>> dropWhileEnd isSpace "foo bar"
"foo bar"

dropWhileEnd isSpace ("foo\n" ++ undefined) == "foo" ++ undefined

Since: base-4.5.0.0

span :: (a -> Bool) -> [a] -> ([a], [a])

span, applied to a predicate p and a list xs, returns a tuple where first element is longest prefix (possibly empty) of xs of elements that satisfy p and second element is the remainder of the list:

>>> span (< 3) [1,2,3,4,1,2,3,4]
([1,2],[3,4,1,2,3,4])
>>> span (< 9) [1,2,3]
([1,2,3],[])
>>> span (< 0) [1,2,3]
([],[1,2,3])

span p xs is equivalent to (takeWhile p xs, dropWhile p xs)

break :: (a -> Bool) -> [a] -> ([a], [a])

break, applied to a predicate p and a list xs, returns a tuple where first element is longest prefix (possibly empty) of xs of elements that do not satisfy p and second element is the remainder of the list:

>>> break (> 3) [1,2,3,4,1,2,3,4]
([1,2,3],[4,1,2,3,4])
>>> break (< 9) [1,2,3]
([],[1,2,3])
>>> break (> 9) [1,2,3]
([1,2,3],[])

break p is equivalent to span (not . p).

stripPrefix :: Eq a => [a] -> [a] -> Maybe [a]

\(\mathcal{O}(\min(m,n))\). The stripPrefix function drops the given prefix from a list. It returns Nothing if the list did not start with the prefix given, or Just the list after the prefix, if it does.

>>> stripPrefix "foo" "foobar"
Just "bar"

>>> stripPrefix "foo" "foo"
Just ""

>>> stripPrefix "foo" "barfoo"
Nothing

>>> stripPrefix "foo" "barfoobaz"
Nothing

group :: Eq a => [a] -> [[a]]

The group function takes a list and returns a list of lists such that the concatenation of the result is equal to the argument. Moreover, each sublist in the result is non-empty and all elements are equal to the first one. For example,

>>> group "Mississippi"
["M","i","ss","i","ss","i","pp","i"]

group is a special case of groupBy, which allows the programmer to supply their own equality test.

It's often preferable to use Data.List.NonEmpty.group, which provides type-level guarantees of non-emptiness of inner lists.

inits :: [a] -> [[a]]

The inits function returns all initial segments of the argument, shortest first. For example,

>>> inits "abc"
["","a","ab","abc"]

Note that inits has the following strictness property: inits (xs ++ _|_) = inits xs ++ _|_

In particular, inits _|_ = [] : _|_

inits is semantically equivalent to map reverse . scanl (flip (:)) [], but under the hood uses a queue to amortize costs of reverse.

tails :: [a] -> [[a]]

\(\mathcal{O}(n)\). The tails function returns all final segments of the argument, longest first. For example,

>>> tails "abc"
["abc","bc","c",""]

Note that tails has the following strictness property: tails _|_ = _|_ : _|_

Predicates

isPrefixOf :: Eq a => [a] -> [a] -> Bool

\(\mathcal{O}(\min(m,n))\). The isPrefixOf function takes two lists and returns True iff the first list is a prefix of the second.

>>> "Hello" `isPrefixOf` "Hello World!"
True
>>> "Hello" `isPrefixOf` "Wello Horld!"
False

For the result to be True, the first list must be finite; False, however, results from any mismatch:

>>> [0..] `isPrefixOf` [1..]
False
>>> [0..] `isPrefixOf` [0..99]
False
>>> [0..99] `isPrefixOf` [0..]
True
>>> [0..] `isPrefixOf` [0..]
* Hangs forever *

isSuffixOf :: Eq a => [a] -> [a] -> Bool

The isSuffixOf function takes two lists and returns True iff the first list is a suffix of the second.

>>> "ld!" `isSuffixOf` "Hello World!"
True
>>> "World" `isSuffixOf` "Hello World!"
False

The second list must be finite; however the first list may be infinite:

>>> [0..] `isSuffixOf` [0..99]
False
>>> [0..99] `isSuffixOf` [0..]
* Hangs forever *

isInfixOf :: Eq a => [a] -> [a] -> Bool

The isInfixOf function takes two lists and returns True iff the first list is contained, wholly and intact, anywhere within the second.

>>> isInfixOf "Haskell" "I really like Haskell."
True
>>> isInfixOf "Ial" "I really like Haskell."
False

For the result to be True, the first list must be finite; for the result to be False, the second list must be finite:

>>> [20..50] `isInfixOf` [0..]
True
>>> [0..] `isInfixOf` [20..50]
False
>>> [0..] `isInfixOf` [0..]
* Hangs forever *

Searching lists

Searching by equality

elem :: Eq a => a -> [a] -> Bool infix 4

elem is the list membership predicate, usually written in infix form, e.g., x `elem` xs. For the result to be False, the list must be finite; True, however, results from an element equal to x found at a finite index of a finite or infinite list.

>>> 3 `elem` []
False
>>> 3 `elem` [1,2]
False
>>> 3 `elem` [1,2,3,4,5]
True
>>> 3 `elem` [1..]
True
>>> 3 `elem` [4..]
* Hangs forever *

notElem :: Eq a => a -> [a] -> Bool infix 4

notElem is the negation of elem.

>>> 3 `notElem` []
True
>>> 3 `notElem` [1,2]
True
>>> 3 `notElem` [1,2,3,4,5]
False
>>> 3 `notElem` [1..]
False
>>> 3 `notElem` [4..]
* Hangs forever *

lookup :: Eq a => a -> [(a, b)] -> Maybe b

\(\mathcal{O}(n)\). lookup key assocs looks up a key in an association list. For the result to be Nothing, the list must be finite.

>>> lookup 2 []
Nothing
>>> lookup 2 [(1, "first")]
Nothing
>>> lookup 2 [(1, "first"), (2, "second"), (3, "third")]
Just "second"

Searching with a predicate

find :: (a -> Bool) -> [a] -> Maybe a

The find function takes a predicate and a list and returns the first element in the list matching the predicate, or Nothing if there is no such element. For the result to be Nothing, the list must be finite.

>>> find (> 4) [1..]
Just 5

>>> find (< 0) [1..10]
Nothing

filter :: (a -> Bool) -> [a] -> [a]

\(\mathcal{O}(n)\). filter, applied to a predicate and a list, returns the list of those elements that satisfy the predicate; i.e.,

filter p xs = [ x | x <- xs, p x]

>>> filter odd [1, 2, 3]
[1,3]

partition :: (a -> Bool) -> [a] -> ([a], [a])

The partition function takes a predicate and a list, and returns the pair of lists of elements which do and do not satisfy the predicate, respectively; i.e.,

partition p xs == (filter p xs, filter (not . p) xs)

>>> partition (`elem` "aeiou") "Hello World!"
("eoo","Hll Wrld!")

Indexing lists

These functions treat a list xs as a indexed collection, with indices ranging from 0 to length xs - 1.

(!!) :: HasCallStack => [a] -> Int -> a infixl 9

List index (subscript) operator, starting from 0. It is an instance of the more general genericIndex, which takes an index of any integral type.

>>> ['a', 'b', 'c'] !! 0
'a'
>>> ['a', 'b', 'c'] !! 2
'c'
>>> ['a', 'b', 'c'] !! 3
*** Exception: Prelude.!!: index too large
>>> ['a', 'b', 'c'] !! (-1)
*** Exception: Prelude.!!: negative index

WARNING: This function is partial. You can use atMay instead.

elemIndex :: Eq a => a -> [a] -> Maybe Int

The elemIndex function returns the index of the first element in the given list which is equal (by ==) to the query element, or Nothing if there is no such element. For the result to be Nothing, the list must be finite.

>>> elemIndex 4 [0..]
Just 4

elemIndices :: Eq a => a -> [a] -> [Int]

The elemIndices function extends elemIndex, by returning the indices of all elements equal to the query element, in ascending order.

>>> elemIndices 'o' "Hello World"
[4,7]

findIndex :: (a -> Bool) -> [a] -> Maybe Int

The findIndex function takes a predicate and a list and returns the index of the first element in the list satisfying the predicate, or Nothing if there is no such element. For the result to be Nothing, the list must be finite.

>>> findIndex isSpace "Hello World!"
Just 5

findIndices :: (a -> Bool) -> [a] -> [Int]

The findIndices function extends findIndex, by returning the indices of all elements satisfying the predicate, in ascending order.

>>> findIndices (`elem` "aeiou") "Hello World!"
[1,4,7]

Zipping and unzipping lists

zip :: [a] -> [b] -> [(a, b)]

\(\mathcal{O}(\min(m,n))\). zip takes two lists and returns a list of corresponding pairs.

>>> zip [1, 2] ['a', 'b']
[(1,'a'),(2,'b')]

If one input list is shorter than the other, excess elements of the longer list are discarded, even if one of the lists is infinite:

>>> zip [1] ['a', 'b']
[(1,'a')]
>>> zip [1, 2] ['a']
[(1,'a')]
>>> zip [] [1..]
[]
>>> zip [1..] []
[]

zip is right-lazy:

>>> zip [] undefined
[]
>>> zip undefined []
*** Exception: Prelude.undefined
...

zip is capable of list fusion, but it is restricted to its first list argument and its resulting list.

zip3 :: [a] -> [b] -> [c] -> [(a, b, c)]

zip3 takes three lists and returns a list of triples, analogous to zip. It is capable of list fusion, but it is restricted to its first list argument and its resulting list.

zip4 :: [a] -> [b] -> [c] -> [d] -> [(a, b, c, d)]

The zip4 function takes four lists and returns a list of quadruples, analogous to zip. It is capable of list fusion, but it is restricted to its first list argument and its resulting list.

zip5 :: [a] -> [b] -> [c] -> [d] -> [e] -> [(a, b, c, d, e)]

The zip5 function takes five lists and returns a list of five-tuples, analogous to zip. It is capable of list fusion, but it is restricted to its first list argument and its resulting list.

zip6 :: [a] -> [b] -> [c] -> [d] -> [e] -> [f] -> [(a, b, c, d, e, f)]

The zip6 function takes six lists and returns a list of six-tuples, analogous to zip. It is capable of list fusion, but it is restricted to its first list argument and its resulting list.

zip7 :: [a] -> [b] -> [c] -> [d] -> [e] -> [f] -> [g] -> [(a, b, c, d, e, f, g)]

The zip7 function takes seven lists and returns a list of seven-tuples, analogous to zip. It is capable of list fusion, but it is restricted to its first list argument and its resulting list.

zipWith :: (a -> b -> c) -> [a] -> [b] -> [c]

\(\mathcal{O}(\min(m,n))\). zipWith generalises zip by zipping with the function given as the first argument, instead of a tupling function.

zipWith (,) xs ys == zip xs ys
zipWith f [x1,x2,x3..] [y1,y2,y3..] == [f x1 y1, f x2 y2, f x3 y3..]

For example, zipWith (+) is applied to two lists to produce the list of corresponding sums:

>>> zipWith (+) [1, 2, 3] [4, 5, 6]
[5,7,9]

zipWith is right-lazy:

>>> let f = undefined
>>> zipWith f [] undefined
[]

zipWith is capable of list fusion, but it is restricted to its first list argument and its resulting list.

zipWith3 :: (a -> b -> c -> d) -> [a] -> [b] -> [c] -> [d]

The zipWith3 function takes a function which combines three elements, as well as three lists and returns a list of the function applied to corresponding elements, analogous to zipWith. It is capable of list fusion, but it is restricted to its first list argument and its resulting list.

zipWith3 (,,) xs ys zs == zip3 xs ys zs
zipWith3 f [x1,x2,x3..] [y1,y2,y3..] [z1,z2,z3..] == [f x1 y1 z1, f x2 y2 z2, f x3 y3 z3..]

zipWith4 :: (a -> b -> c -> d -> e) -> [a] -> [b] -> [c] -> [d] -> [e]

The zipWith4 function takes a function which combines four elements, as well as four lists and returns a list of their point-wise combination, analogous to zipWith. It is capable of list fusion, but it is restricted to its first list argument and its resulting list.

zipWith5 :: (a -> b -> c -> d -> e -> f) -> [a] -> [b] -> [c] -> [d] -> [e] -> [f]

The zipWith5 function takes a function which combines five elements, as well as five lists and returns a list of their point-wise combination, analogous to zipWith. It is capable of list fusion, but it is restricted to its first list argument and its resulting list.

zipWith6 :: (a -> b -> c -> d -> e -> f -> g) -> [a] -> [b] -> [c] -> [d] -> [e] -> [f] -> [g]

The zipWith6 function takes a function which combines six elements, as well as six lists and returns a list of their point-wise combination, analogous to zipWith. It is capable of list fusion, but it is restricted to its first list argument and its resulting list.

zipWith7 :: (a -> b -> c -> d -> e -> f -> g -> h) -> [a] -> [b] -> [c] -> [d] -> [e] -> [f] -> [g] -> [h]

The zipWith7 function takes a function which combines seven elements, as well as seven lists and returns a list of their point-wise combination, analogous to zipWith. It is capable of list fusion, but it is restricted to its first list argument and its resulting list.

unzip :: [(a, b)] -> ([a], [b])

unzip transforms a list of pairs into a list of first components and a list of second components.

>>> unzip []
([],[])
>>> unzip [(1, 'a'), (2, 'b')]
([1,2],"ab")

unzip3 :: [(a, b, c)] -> ([a], [b], [c])

The unzip3 function takes a list of triples and returns three lists, analogous to unzip.

>>> unzip3 []
([],[],[])
>>> unzip3 [(1, 'a', True), (2, 'b', False)]
([1,2],"ab",[True,False])

unzip4 :: [(a, b, c, d)] -> ([a], [b], [c], [d])

The unzip4 function takes a list of quadruples and returns four lists, analogous to unzip.

unzip5 :: [(a, b, c, d, e)] -> ([a], [b], [c], [d], [e])

The unzip5 function takes a list of five-tuples and returns five lists, analogous to unzip.

unzip6 :: [(a, b, c, d, e, f)] -> ([a], [b], [c], [d], [e], [f])

The unzip6 function takes a list of six-tuples and returns six lists, analogous to unzip.

unzip7 :: [(a, b, c, d, e, f, g)] -> ([a], [b], [c], [d], [e], [f], [g])

The unzip7 function takes a list of seven-tuples and returns seven lists, analogous to unzip.

Special lists

Functions on strings

lines :: String -> [String]

Splits the argument into a list of lines stripped of their terminating \n characters. The \n terminator is optional in a final non-empty line of the argument string.

For example:

>>> lines ""           -- empty input contains no lines
[]
>>> lines "\n"         -- single empty line
[""]
>>> lines "one"        -- single unterminated line
["one"]
>>> lines "one\n"      -- single non-empty line
["one"]
>>> lines "one\n\n"    -- second line is empty
["one",""]
>>> lines "one\ntwo"   -- second line is unterminated
["one","two"]
>>> lines "one\ntwo\n" -- two non-empty lines
["one","two"]

When the argument string is empty, or ends in a \n character, it can be recovered by passing the result of lines to the unlines function. Otherwise, unlines appends the missing terminating \n. This makes unlines . lines idempotent:

(unlines . lines) . (unlines . lines) = (unlines . lines)

words :: String -> [String]

words breaks a string up into a list of words, which were delimited by white space (as defined by isSpace). This function trims any white spaces at the beginning and at the end.

>>> words "Lorem ipsum\ndolor"
["Lorem","ipsum","dolor"]
>>> words " foo bar "
["foo","bar"]

unlines :: [String] -> String

Appends a \n character to each input string, then concatenates the results. Equivalent to foldMap (s -> s ++ "\n").

>>> unlines ["Hello", "World", "!"]
"Hello\nWorld\n!\n"

Note that unlines . lines /= id when the input is not \n-terminated:

>>> unlines . lines $ "foo\nbar"
"foo\nbar\n"

unwords :: [String] -> String

unwords joins words with separating spaces (U+0020 SPACE).

>>> unwords ["Lorem", "ipsum", "dolor"]
"Lorem ipsum dolor"

unwords is neither left nor right inverse of words:

>>> words (unwords [" "])
[]
>>> unwords (words "foo\nbar")
"foo bar"

"Set" operations

nub :: Eq a => [a] -> [a]

\(\mathcal{O}(n^2)\). The nub function removes duplicate elements from a list. In particular, it keeps only the first occurrence of each element. (The name nub means `essence'.) It is a special case of nubBy, which allows the programmer to supply their own equality test.

>>> nub [1,2,3,4,3,2,1,2,4,3,5]
[1,2,3,4,5]

If the order of outputs does not matter and there exists instance Ord a, it's faster to use map Data.List.NonEmpty.head . Data.List.NonEmpty.group . sort, which takes only \(\mathcal{O}(n \log n)\) time.

delete :: Eq a => a -> [a] -> [a]

\(\mathcal{O}(n)\). delete x removes the first occurrence of x from its list argument. For example,

>>> delete 'a' "banana"
"bnana"

It is a special case of deleteBy, which allows the programmer to supply their own equality test.

(\\) :: Eq a => [a] -> [a] -> [a] infix 5

The \\ function is list difference (non-associative). In the result of xs \\ ys, the first occurrence of each element of ys in turn (if any) has been removed from xs. Thus (xs ++ ys) \\ xs == ys.

>>> "Hello World!" \\ "ell W"
"Hoorld!"

It is a special case of deleteFirstsBy, which allows the programmer to supply their own equality test.

The second list must be finite, but the first may be infinite.

>>> take 5 ([0..] \\ [2..4])
[0,1,5,6,7]
>>> take 5 ([0..] \\ [2..])
* Hangs forever *

union :: Eq a => [a] -> [a] -> [a]

The union function returns the list union of the two lists. It is a special case of unionBy, which allows the programmer to supply their own equality test. For example,

>>> "dog" `union` "cow"
"dogcw"

If equal elements are present in both lists, an element from the first list will be used. If the second list contains equal elements, only the first one will be retained:

>>> import Data.Semigroup
>>> union [Arg () "dog"] [Arg () "cow"]
[Arg () "dog"]
>>> union [] [Arg () "dog", Arg () "cow"]
[Arg () "dog"]

However if the first list contains duplicates, so will the result:

>>> "coot" `union` "duck"
"cootduk"
>>> "duck" `union` "coot"
"duckot"

union is productive even if both arguments are infinite.

intersect :: Eq a => [a] -> [a] -> [a]

The intersect function takes the list intersection of two lists. It is a special case of intersectBy, which allows the programmer to supply their own equality test. For example,

>>> [1,2,3,4] `intersect` [2,4,6,8]
[2,4]

If equal elements are present in both lists, an element from the first list will be used, and all duplicates from the second list quashed:

>>> import Data.Semigroup
>>> intersect [Arg () "dog"] [Arg () "cow", Arg () "cat"]
[Arg () "dog"]

However if the first list contains duplicates, so will the result.

>>> "coot" `intersect` "heron"
"oo"
>>> "heron" `intersect` "coot"
"o"

If the second list is infinite, intersect either hangs or returns its first argument in full. Otherwise if the first list is infinite, intersect might be productive:

>>> intersect [100..] [0..]
[100,101,102,103...
>>> intersect [0] [1..]
* Hangs forever *
>>> intersect [1..] [0]
* Hangs forever *
>>> intersect (cycle [1..3]) [2]
[2,2,2,2...

Ordered lists

sort :: Ord a => [a] -> [a]

The sort function implements a stable sorting algorithm. It is a special case of sortBy, which allows the programmer to supply their own comparison function.

Elements are arranged from lowest to highest, keeping duplicates in the order they appeared in the input.

>>> sort [1,6,4,3,2,5]
[1,2,3,4,5,6]

The argument must be finite.

sortOn :: Ord b => (a -> b) -> [a] -> [a]

Sort a list by comparing the results of a key function applied to each element. sortOn f is equivalent to sortBy (comparing f), but has the performance advantage of only evaluating f once for each element in the input list. This is called the decorate-sort-undecorate paradigm, or Schwartzian transform.

Elements are arranged from lowest to highest, keeping duplicates in the order they appeared in the input.

>>> sortOn fst [(2, "world"), (4, "!"), (1, "Hello")]
[(1,"Hello"),(2,"world"),(4,"!")]

The argument must be finite.

Since: base-4.8.0.0

insert :: Ord a => a -> [a] -> [a]

\(\mathcal{O}(n)\). The insert function takes an element and a list and inserts the element into the list at the first position where it is less than or equal to the next element. In particular, if the list is sorted before the call, the result will also be sorted. It is a special case of insertBy, which allows the programmer to supply their own comparison function.

>>> insert 4 [1,2,3,5,6,7]
[1,2,3,4,5,6,7]

Generalized functions

The "By" operations

By convention, overloaded functions have a non-overloaded counterpart whose name is suffixed with `By'.

It is often convenient to use these functions together with on, for instance sortBy (compare `on` fst).

User-supplied equality (replacing an Eq context)

The predicate is assumed to define an equivalence.

nubBy :: (a -> a -> Bool) -> [a] -> [a]

The nubBy function behaves just like nub, except it uses a user-supplied equality predicate instead of the overloaded == function.

>>> nubBy (\x y -> mod x 3 == mod y 3) [1,2,4,5,6]
[1,2,6]

deleteBy :: (a -> a -> Bool) -> a -> [a] -> [a]

\(\mathcal{O}(n)\). The deleteBy function behaves like delete, but takes a user-supplied equality predicate.

>>> deleteBy (<=) 4 [1..10]
[1,2,3,5,6,7,8,9,10]

deleteFirstsBy :: (a -> a -> Bool) -> [a] -> [a] -> [a]

The deleteFirstsBy function takes a predicate and two lists and returns the first list with the first occurrence of each element of the second list removed. This is the non-overloaded version of (\\).

The second list must be finite, but the first may be infinite.

unionBy :: (a -> a -> Bool) -> [a] -> [a] -> [a]

The unionBy function is the non-overloaded version of union. Both arguments may be infinite.

intersectBy :: (a -> a -> Bool) -> [a] -> [a] -> [a]

The intersectBy function is the non-overloaded version of intersect. It is productive for infinite arguments only if the first one is a subset of the second.

groupBy :: (a -> a -> Bool) -> [a] -> [[a]]

The groupBy function is the non-overloaded version of group.

When a supplied relation is not transitive, it is important to remember that equality is checked against the first element in the group, not against the nearest neighbour:

>>> groupBy (\a b -> b - a < 5) [0..19]
[[0,1,2,3,4],[5,6,7,8,9],[10,11,12,13,14],[15,16,17,18,19]]

It's often preferable to use Data.List.NonEmpty.groupBy, which provides type-level guarantees of non-emptiness of inner lists.

User-supplied comparison (replacing an Ord context)

The function is assumed to define a total ordering.

sortBy :: (a -> a -> Ordering) -> [a] -> [a]

The sortBy function is the non-overloaded version of sort. The argument must be finite.

>>> sortBy (\(a,_) (b,_) -> compare a b) [(2, "world"), (4, "!"), (1, "Hello")]
[(1,"Hello"),(2,"world"),(4,"!")]

The supplied comparison relation is supposed to be reflexive and antisymmetric, otherwise, e. g., for _ _ -> GT, the ordered list simply does not exist. The relation is also expected to be transitive: if it is not then sortBy might fail to find an ordered permutation, even if it exists.

insertBy :: (a -> a -> Ordering) -> a -> [a] -> [a]

\(\mathcal{O}(n)\). The non-overloaded version of insert.

maximumBy :: (a -> a -> Ordering) -> [a] -> a

The maximumBy function is the non-overloaded version of maximum, which takes a comparison function and a list and returns the greatest element of the list by the comparison function. The list must be finite and non-empty.

We can use this to find the longest entry of a list:

>>> maximumBy (\x y -> compare (length x) (length y)) ["Hello", "World", "!", "Longest", "bar"]
"Longest"

minimumBy :: (a -> a -> Ordering) -> [a] -> a

The minimumBy function is the non-overloaded version of minimum, which takes a comparison function and a list and returns the least element of the list by the comparison function. The list must be finite and non-empty.

We can use this to find the shortest entry of a list:

>>> minimumBy (\x y -> compare (length x) (length y)) ["Hello", "World", "!", "Longest", "bar"]
"!"

The "generic" operations

The prefix `generic' indicates an overloaded function that is a generalized version of a Prelude function.

genericLength :: Num i => [a] -> i

\(\mathcal{O}(n)\). The genericLength function is an overloaded version of length. In particular, instead of returning an Int, it returns any type which is an instance of Num. It is, however, less efficient than length.

>>> genericLength [1, 2, 3] :: Int
3
>>> genericLength [1, 2, 3] :: Float
3.0

Users should take care to pick a return type that is wide enough to contain the full length of the list. If the width is insufficient, the overflow behaviour will depend on the (+) implementation in the selected Num instance. The following example overflows because the actual list length of 200 lies outside of the Int8 range of -128..127.

>>> genericLength [1..200] :: Int8
-56

genericTake :: Integral i => i -> [a] -> [a]

The genericTake function is an overloaded version of take, which accepts any Integral value as the number of elements to take.

genericDrop :: Integral i => i -> [a] -> [a]

The genericDrop function is an overloaded version of drop, which accepts any Integral value as the number of elements to drop.

genericSplitAt :: Integral i => i -> [a] -> ([a], [a])

The genericSplitAt function is an overloaded version of splitAt, which accepts any Integral value as the position at which to split.

genericIndex :: Integral i => [a] -> i -> a

The genericIndex function is an overloaded version of !!, which accepts any Integral value as the index.

genericReplicate :: Integral i => i -> a -> [a]

The genericReplicate function is an overloaded version of replicate, which accepts any Integral value as the number of repetitions to make.