Name clashes in record fields

From HaskellWiki

1 Question

I like to define:

data Human = Human {name :: String}
data Dog = Dog {name :: String}

Why is this forbidden?

I like to define:

data Human = Human {name :: String}
 
name :: Cat -> String
name = ...

Why is this forbidden, too?

2 Answer

that retrieve the field's value from a particular record. They are in the global scope together with top-level functions and thus cannot have the same name. For resolving this you may:

• rename the accessor or the top-level function
• put the data declaration or the top-level function in another module and import qualified
• write a typeclass with a
  name
  function and fit the non-accessor function
  name
  somehow into that.

3 See also

• Type directed name resolution
• Haskell-Cafe on Record types and unique names

Category: FAQ