# HG changeset patch # User Adam Chlipala # Date 1262184512 18000 # Node ID 8d0f195710f16725f7ecef2a4f19ac8500069788 # Parent b9abd6cded7bf793716c23114b54d57067be3e0b Update manual's description of implicit arguments diff -r b9abd6cded7b -r 8d0f195710f1 doc/manual.tex --- a/doc/manual.tex Tue Dec 29 16:48:27 2009 -0500 +++ b/doc/manual.tex Wed Dec 30 09:48:32 2009 -0500 @@ -465,7 +465,7 @@ A signature item or declaration $\mt{class} \; x = \lambda y \Rightarrow c$ may be abbreviated $\mt{class} \; x \; y = c$. -Handling of implicit and explicit constructor arguments may be tweaked with some prefixes to variable references. An expression $@x$ is a version of $x$ where all implicit constructor arguments have been made explicit. An expression $@@x$ achieves the same effect, additionally halting automatic resolution of type class instances and automatic proving of disjointness constraints. The default is that any prefix of a variable's type consisting only of implicit polymorphism, type class instances, and disjointness obligations is resolved automatically, with the variable treated as having the type that starts after the last implicit element, with suitable unification variables substituted. The same syntax works for variables projected out of modules and for capitalized variables (datatype constructors). +Handling of implicit and explicit constructor arguments may be tweaked with some prefixes to variable references. An expression $@x$ is a version of $x$ where all implicit constructor arguments have been made explicit. An expression $@@x$ achieves the same effect, additionally halting automatic resolution of type class instances and automatic proving of disjointness constraints. The default is that implicit arguments are inserted automatically after any reference to a non-local variable, or after any application of a non-local variable to one or more arguments. For such an expression, implicit wildcard arguments are added for the longest prefix of the expression's type consisting only of implicit polymorphism, type class instances, and disjointness obligations. The same syntax works for variables projected out of modules and for capitalized variables (datatype constructors). At the expression level, an analogue is available of the composite $\lambda$ form for constructors. We define the language of binders as $b ::= p \mid [x] \mid [x \; ? \; \kappa] \mid X \mid [c \sim c]$. A lone variable $[x]$ stands for an implicit constructor variable of unspecified kind. The standard value-level function binder is recovered as the type-annotated pattern form $x : \tau$. It is a compile-time error to include a pattern $p$ that does not match every value of the appropriate type.