After a few months of writing about Cats, it is great to take a small break. This pause isn’t to start anything new but to build foundations for the upcoming posts. If you are looking to learn about those scary FP words, you will need to understand what is below.
Chances are, if you are looking to learn about cats, you will find the start quite easy. Hopefully, I can make the end easy too.
When you write code, it is a good idea to aim for generic logic. You never know when you might need to solve another very similar problem.
The simplest way to avoid duplication is by writing functions. They allow us to execute many times the same logic. This logic should be based on input arguments, and return output ones.
def maxOption(elements: List[Int]): Option[Int] = {
if(elements.isEmpty) None
else Some(elements.max)
}
The above function is quite simple. It finds the largest element in a List[Int] or returns None. It is a safe alternative to the built-in one.
Our maxOption function is a great way to avoid redefining the if statement, but it isn’t very generic. It only works with List[Int].
def maxOption(elements: Array[Float]): Option[Float] = ???
def maxOption(elements: Set[String]): Option[String] = ???
def maxOption(elements: Vector[Boolean]): Option[Boolean] = ???
...
It would be silly to define the function for every combination of types. This can be avoided with abstraction.
A supertype represents functionalities that are inherited by another type. This is often represented with animals, shapes, or vehicles.
// https://docs.oracle.com/javase/tutorial/java/IandI/subclasses.html
class Bicycle(
cadence: Int,
gear: Int,
speed: Int,
)
class MountainBike(
cadence: Int,
gear: Int,
speed: Int,
seatHeight: Int,
) extends Bicycle(cadence, gear, speed)
Array, List, and Set have many supertypes in common. Picking the smallest common denominator would increase compatibility with other types.
The only need for maxOption is for the supertype to implement isEmpty and max. Those can be found in the GenTraversableOnce trait.
import scala.collection.GenTraversableOnce
def maxOption(elements: GenTraversableOnce[Int]): Option[Int] = {
if(elements.isEmpty) None
else Some(elements.max)
}
GenTraversableOnce has over 350 subclasses. By using it instead of List, we increased compatibility but Int is still very limiting.
Int, like String, Boolean, and many other types, only extend Any and AnyVal. Those types can’t be compared to identify the maximum value.
def maxOption(elements: GenTraversableOnce[Any]): Option[Any] = ???
Instead of using a supertype, Int should be implemented as a generic. This allows the caller to specify any type, but it also means the function must handle all types.
def maxOption[A](elements: GenTraversableOnce[A]): Option[A] = ???
Once again this seems like the wrong approach, until you attempt to compile the code.
scala> import scala.collection.GenTraversableOnce
import scala.collection.GenTraversableOnce
scala> def maxOption[A](elements: GenTraversableOnce[A]) = {
| if(elements.isEmpty) None
| else Some(elements.max)
| }
<console>:14: error: No implicit Ordering defined for A.
else Some(elements.max)
^
The compiler raises an error. It doesn’t know how to identify a maximum A but it could with an implicit Ordering, Ordering is a trait used to sort elements. It allows the compiler to identify the max value.
The function can take Ordering as an extra argument
def maxOption[A](elements: GenTraversableOnce[A])
(implicit ord: Ordering[A]): Option[A] = {
if(elements.isEmpty) None
else Some(elements.max)
}
Or a type bound
def maxOption[A: Ordering](elements: GenTraversableOnce[A]) = {
if(elements.isEmpty) None
else Some(elements.max)
}
The second is just syntactic sugar for the first.
Ordering is a typeclass. Similarly to the supertype, it defines and sometimes implements functionality. There is more to it, but I will keep that for the next post.
Let’s see how Ordering could be used to return the highest Bid for an auction company.
case class Bid(
owner: String,
amount: Float)
The wrong approach is to remove the generic and replace it by Bid. This would work, but the function wouldn’t be generic anymore.
Instead, a new implementation of Ordering should be created.
implicit val bidOrdering = new Ordering[Bid] {
def compare(x: Bid, y: Bid): Int = x.amount.compare(y.amount)
}
As long as the implicit is in scope, the function can be invoked with any GenTraversableOnce[Bid].
Supertypes offer a simple hierarchy explanation that makes it easy for people to use. Typeclasses, with the implicits, aren’t as welcoming, but offer the same functionality, and more.
Next time, with the basics out of the way, I will focus on the more part.