Editing 1312: Haskell

{{comic
| number    = 1312
| date      = January 3, 2014
| title     = Haskell
| image     = haskell.png
| titletext = The problem with Haskell is that it's a language built on lazy evaluation and nobody's actually called for it.
}}

==Explanation==
The comic pokes fun at {{w|Haskell (programming language)|Haskell}}, a {{w|functional programming language}}.  Functional programming languages are based on the mathematical concept of a function.  Side effects are effects of a function other than returning a value.  As a simple example, if a <code>sum</code> function prints the sum before returning it, that is a side effect.  Real functions in most languages also have side effects, many of which are more complex, and sometimes hard to analyze.  Functional programming languages seek to avoid side effects when possible.  When side effects are required (for instance input and output), they are isolated to {{w|monad|monads}}, which are ways of representing sequential steps in functional programming.

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==Transcript==
[Megan] Code written in Haskell is guaranteed to have no side effects. <br>
[Cueball] ... because no one will ever run it?
{{comic discussion}}