What are monads in Haskell and how do I use them?

What are monads in Haskell and how do I use them?

Monads in Haskell are a way to handle computations that include a context, like side effects. They allow you to chain operations while managing this context.

Can you give me an example of a monad in practice?

Sure! The 'Maybe' monad is a common example. It represents a computation that might fail. You can use it to safely handle values that may be 'Nothing'.

How do I define a custom monad?

To define a custom monad, you need to implement the 'Monad' type class, which includes 'return' and '>>=' (bind) functions. You also need to define the underlying data type.

What are some common use cases for monads?

Common use cases for monads include handling optional values with 'Maybe', managing state with 'State', and performing I/O operations with 'IO'.