Description #
Haskell is a purely functional programming language known for its strong static typing, lazy evaluation, and use of mathematical functions as the primary building blocks of computation. It encourages writing code that is both concise and mathematically sound, making it a favorite for academic, research, and high-assurance applications.
History #
Haskell was developed in 1990 by a committee of academics to unify many functional programming ideas into one standardized language. It was named after Haskell Curry, a mathematician known for combinatory logic.
Key milestones:
- Standardized in Haskell 98, a stable version for teaching and research
- The Glasgow Haskell Compiler (GHC) became the dominant implementation
- Influenced languages like Rust, Elm, and PureScript
- Used in finance, blockchain, and formal verification systems
Hello World Code #
main = putStrLn "Hello, World!"How to Run #
Online: #
- Visit https://replit.com/languages/haskell
- Paste the code and click Run
Locally: #
- Install the Haskell Platform or GHC via https://www.haskell.org
- Save the code as
hello.hs - Compile and run:
ghc hello.hs -o hello
./helloKey Concepts #
main— entry point for Haskell programsputStrLn— prints a string followed by a newline- Pure functions — no side effects unless explicitly handled
- Lazy evaluation — expressions are only evaluated when needed
- Strong static typing — all types are checked at compile time
- Type inference — no need to explicitly declare types in many cases
- Higher-order functions — functions can take/return other functions
- Monads — structure for handling side effects like IO
- Pattern matching — concise and readable control flow
- List comprehensions — powerful syntax for building lists
Try It Online #
🔗 Replit – Haskell
🔗 Try Haskell
🔗 JDoodle Haskell IDE
Fun Facts #
- Haskell was named after Haskell Brooks Curry, not the food
- Its type system helped inspire Rust’s approach to safety and correctness
- XMonad, a popular tiling window manager for Linux, is written in Haskell
- Haskell is the primary language behind Cardano, a major blockchain
- It’s often called the “lingua franca” of functional programming
