What is the Maybe type in Haskell?

Can you explain what the Maybe type is in Haskell?

Sure! The Maybe type in Haskell is used to represent values that might be absent. It can either be Just a value or Nothing.

How do you use the Maybe type in a function?

You can use it to handle cases where a function might not return a value. For example, a function that looks up a value in a list might return a Maybe type.

Can you give me an example of a function using Maybe?

Absolutely! Here's a simple example: lookup :: Eq a => a -> [(a, b)] -> Maybe b. This function returns Just the value if found, or Nothing if not.

What are the benefits of using Maybe instead of other error handling methods?

Using Maybe helps avoid runtime errors and makes your code safer by explicitly handling the absence of values.