Re: [Caml-list] When is a function polymorphic?

[Jacques Garrigue <garrigue@math.nagoya-u.ac.jp>]

From: Yaron Minsky <yminsky@gmail.com>

> I think I screwed up the original examples a bit.  I think the effect
> I'm looking at doesn't depend on the "as" notation in particular. 
> Here's another example that doesn't use "as":
> 
> # function Some x -> Some () | None -> None;;
> - : 'a option -> unit option = <fun>
> # function Some x -> Some () | x -> x;;
> - : unit option -> unit option = <fun>
> 
> The reason I want this is for the following example.  Consider some
> complicated union type with a single parameter:
> 
> type 'a foo = A of 'a | B of int | C of string * string | ... | ZZ of float
> 
> I want a function that converts an 'a foo to a unit foo.  I tried to
> write it this way:
> 
> function A _ -> A () | x -> x
> 
> But this ends up having type: unit foo -> unit foo, which isn't what I
> want at all.  Any idea of how to achieve this cleanly?

The effect you are looking for does depend on the "as" notation.
Here is how to write it:

function A _ -> A () | (B _ | C _ | ... | ZZ _) as x -> x

Note that the exhaustivity checker will correctly detect that you
second case is complete, and the pattern-matching compiler will just
branch on wheter the tag is A or not. I.e. no code will be produced to
check the second pattern.

As others pointed, polymorphic variants allow you to write it in a
shorter way, because you can define a type abbreviation for the
remaining cases, but in the end it uses the same "as" mechanism.

Jacques Garrigue