Abstract

The functional programming language Haskell is examined from the point of view of proving programs correct. Particular features explored include the data type definition facilities, classes, the behaviour of patterns and guards and the monad approach to IO in the Glasgow Haskell compiler. 1 Introduction Haskell [Hudak et al., 1992, Hudak and Fasel, 1992] is a lazy functional programming language which is likely to become a de facto as well as a de jure standard academically and commercially. It is often said that a crucial part of the appeal of functional languages is the ease with which proofs concerning functional programs can be written. It is also widely accepted that if proof is to be taken seriously, it needs to be formalised, and to be checked by machine 1 . The aim of this paper is to initiate discussion on the form that a logic for Haskell might take. It is based to some degree on the author's previous work on devising a logic for Miranda, [Thompson, 1989], which in turn b...

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