Best Practices for Where clauses - haskell

Question

I wrote a simple tic-tac-toe program in Haskell. It runs on the command line, has a one and two player mode, and implements a minimax algorithm when you play against it.
I'm used to writing proper code in OO languages, but Haskell is new to me. This code works reasonably well, but seems hard to read (even to me!). Any suggestions on how to make this code more...Haskellian?
import Data.List
import Data.Char
import Data.Maybe
import Control.Monad
data Square = A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | X | O deriving (Read, Eq, Ord)
instance Show Square where
show A = "a"
show B = "b"
show C = "c"
show D = "d"
show E = "e"
show F = "f"
show G = "g"
show H = "h"
show I = "i"
show X = "X"
show O = "O"
type Row = [Square]
type Board = [Row]
data Player = PX | PO deriving (Read, Eq)
instance Show Player where
show PX = "Player X"
show PO = "Player O"
data Result = XWin | Tie | OWin deriving (Read, Show, Eq, Ord)
main :: IO ()
main = do
putStrLn "Let's play some tic tac toe!!!"
putStrLn "Yeeeaaaaaahh!!!"
gameSelect
gameSelect :: IO ()
gameSelect = do
putStrLn "Who gonna play, one playa or two??? (Enter 1 or 2)"
gameMode <- getLine
case gameMode of "1" -> onePlayerMode
"2" -> twoPlayerMode
gameMode -> gameSelect
where onePlayerMode = do
putStrLn "One playa"
putStrLn "Cool! Get ready to play...AGAINST MY INVINCIBLE TIC TAC TOE AI!!!!! HAHAHAHA!!!"
gameLoop 1 emptyBoard PX
twoPlayerMode = do
putStrLn "Two players"
gameLoop 2 emptyBoard PX
emptyBoard = [[A,B,C],[D,E,F],[G,H,I]]
gameLoop :: Int -> Board -> Player -> IO ()
gameLoop noOfPlayers board player = do
case detectWin board of Just XWin -> endgame board XWin
Just OWin -> endgame board OWin
Just Tie -> endgame board Tie
Nothing -> if noOfPlayers == 1
then if player == PX
then enterMove 1 board player
else enterBestMove board PO
else enterMove 2 board player
enterMove :: Int -> Board -> Player -> IO ()
enterMove noOfPlayers board player = do
displayBoard board
if noOfPlayers == 1
then do putStrLn ("Make your move. (A-I)")
else do putStrLn (show player ++ ", it's your turn. (A-I)")
move <- getLine
print move
if not $ move `elem` ["a","b","c","d","e","f","g","h","i"]
then do
putStrLn $ move ++ " is not a move, doofus"
gameLoop noOfPlayers board player
else if (read (map toUpper move) :: Square) `elem` [ sq | sq <- concat board]
then do
gameLoop noOfPlayers (newBoard (read (map toUpper move) :: Square) player board) (if player == PX then PO else PX)
else do
putStrLn "That square is already occupied"
gameLoop noOfPlayers board player
enterBestMove :: Board -> Player -> IO ()
enterBestMove board player = gameLoop 1 (newBoard bestmove player board) PX
where bestmove = fst $ findBestMove PO board
findBestMove :: Player -> Board -> (Square, Result)
findBestMove player board
| player == PO = findMax results
| player == PX = findMin results
where findMin = foldl1 (\ acc x -> if snd x < snd acc then x else acc)
findMax = foldl1 (\ acc x -> if snd x > snd acc then x else acc)
results = [ (sq, getResult b) | (sq, b) <- boards player board ]
getResult b = if detectWin b == Nothing
then snd (findBestMove (if player == PX then PO else PX) b)
else fromJust $ detectWin b
boards :: Player -> Board -> [(Square, Board)]
boards player board = [(sq, newBoard sq player board) | sq <- concat board, sq /= X, sq /=O]
displayBoard :: Board -> IO ()
displayBoard board = do
mapM_ print board
newBoard :: Square -> Player -> Board -> Board
newBoard move player board = [ [if sq == move then mark else sq | sq <- row] | row <- board]
where mark = if player == PX then X else O
detectWin :: Board -> (Maybe Result)
detectWin board
| [X,X,X] `elem` board ++ transpose board = Just XWin
| [X,X,X] `elem` [diagonal1 board, diagonal2 board] = Just XWin
| [O,O,O] `elem` board ++ transpose board = Just OWin
| [O,O,O] `elem` [diagonal1 board, diagonal2 board] = Just OWin
| [X,X,X,X,X,O,O,O,O] == (sort $ concat board) = Just Tie
| otherwise = Nothing
where
diagonal1 :: Board -> [Square]
diagonal1 bs = bs!!0!!0 : bs!!1!!1 : bs!!2!!2 : []
diagonal2 :: Board -> [Square]
diagonal2 bs = bs!!0!!2 : bs!!1!!1 : bs!!2!!0 : []
endgame :: Board -> Result -> IO ()
endgame board result = do
displayBoard board
if result `elem` [XWin, OWin]
then
let player = if result == XWin then PX else PO
in do
putStrLn ("The game is over, and " ++ show player ++ " wins!")
putStrLn ((if player == PX then show PO else show PX) ++ " is a loser lol")
else do
putStrLn "The game is a tie"
putStrLn "You are both losers! Ugh!"
putStrLn "Want to play again? (y/n)"
again <- getLine
if again `elem` ["y", "Y", "yes", "Yes", "YES"]
then gameSelect
else do
putStrLn "Goodbye"
EDIT: with special thanks to #Chi and #Caridorc, I've made the following changes. Further suggestions will be considered and updated as well
import Data.List
import Data.Char
import Data.Maybe
import Control.Monad
data Square = A | B | C | D | E | F | G | H | I | X | O deriving (Read, Eq, Ord)
instance Show Square where
show A = "a"
show B = "b"
show C = "c"
show D = "d"
show E = "e"
show F = "f"
show G = "g"
show H = "h"
show I = "i"
show X = "X"
show O = "O"
type Row = [Square]
type Board = [Row]
data Player = PX | PO deriving (Read, Eq)
instance Show Player where
show PX = "Player X"
show PO = "Player O"
data Result = XWin | Tie | OWin deriving (Read, Show, Eq, Ord)
main :: IO ()
main = do
putStrLn "Let's play some tic tac toe!!!"
putStrLn "Yeeeaaaaaahh!!!"
gameSelect
gameSelect :: IO ()
gameSelect = do
putStrLn "Who gonna play, one playa or two??? (Enter 1 or 2)"
gameMode <- getLine
case gameMode of
"1" -> onePlayerMode
"2" -> twoPlayerMode
_ -> gameSelect
where onePlayerMode = do
putStrLn "One playa"
putStrLn "Cool! Get ready to play...AGAINST MY INVINCIBLE TIC TAC TOE AI!!!!! HAHAHAHA!!!"
gameLoop 1 emptyBoard PX
twoPlayerMode = do
putStrLn "Two players"
gameLoop 2 emptyBoard PX
emptyBoard = [[A,B,C],[D,E,F],[G,H,I]]
displayBoard :: Board -> IO ()
displayBoard board = do
mapM_ print board
otherPlayer :: Player -> Player
otherPlayer PX = PO
otherPlayer PO = PX
gameLoop :: Int -> Board -> Player -> IO ()
gameLoop noOfPlayers board player = do
case detectWin board of
Just res -> endgame board res
Nothing -> case noOfPlayers of
1 -> case player of
PX -> enterMove 1 board player
PO -> enterBestMove board PO
2 -> enterMove 2 board player
enterMove :: Int -> Board -> Player -> IO ()
enterMove noOfPlayers board player = do
displayBoard board
case noOfPlayers of
1 -> do putStrLn ("Make your move. (A-I)")
2 -> do putStrLn (show player ++ ", it's your turn. (A-I)")
move <- getLine
print move
if not $ move `elem` ["a","b","c","d","e","f","g","h","i"] then do
putStrLn $ move ++ " is not a move, doofus"
gameLoop noOfPlayers board player
else if (read (map toUpper move) :: Square) `elem` (concat board) then do
gameLoop noOfPlayers (newBoard (read (map toUpper move) :: Square) player board) (otherPlayer player)
else do
putStrLn "That square is already occupied"
gameLoop noOfPlayers board player
enterBestMove :: Board -> Player -> IO ()
enterBestMove board player = gameLoop 1 (newBoard bestmove player board) PX
where bestmove = fst $ findBestMove PO board
findBestMove :: Player -> Board -> (Square, Result) -- minimax algorithm
findBestMove player board
| player == PO = findMax results
| player == PX = findMin results
where findMin = foldl1 (\ acc x -> if snd x < snd acc then x else acc)
findMax = foldl1 (\ acc x -> if snd x > snd acc then x else acc)
results = [ (sq, getResult b) | (sq, b) <- boards player board ]
getResult b = case detectWin b of
Nothing -> snd (findBestMove (otherPlayer player) b)
Just x -> x
boards :: Player -> Board -> [(Square, Board)]
boards player board = [(sq, newBoard sq player board) | sq <- concat board, sq /= X, sq /=O]
newBoard :: Square -> Player -> Board -> Board
newBoard move player board = [ [if sq == move then mark else sq | sq <- row] | row <- board]
where mark = if player == PX then X else O
detectWin :: Board -> (Maybe Result)
detectWin board
| [X,X,X] `elem` (triplets board) = Just XWin
| [O,O,O] `elem` (triplets board) = Just OWin
| [X,X,X,X,X,O,O,O,O] == (sort $ concat board) = Just Tie
| otherwise = Nothing
triplets :: Board -> [[Square]]
triplets board = board ++ transpose board ++ [diagonal1] ++ [diagonal2]
where
flat = concat board
diagonal1 = [flat !! 0, flat !! 4, flat !! 8]
diagonal2 = [flat !! 2, flat !! 4, flat !! 6]
endgame :: Board -> Result -> IO ()
endgame board result = do
displayBoard board
putStrLn $ endGameMessage result
putStrLn "Want to play again? (y/n)"
again <- getLine
if again `elem` ["y", "Y", "yes", "Yes", "YES"]
then gameSelect
else do
putStrLn "Goodbye"
endGameMessage :: Result -> String
endGameMessage result
| result `elem` [XWin, OWin] = winnerNotice ++ loserNotice
| otherwise = "The game is a tie\n" ++ "You are both losers! Ugh!"
where
winner = case result of
XWin -> PX
OWin -> PO
winnerNotice = "The game is over, and " ++ show winner ++ " wins!\n"
loserNotice = (show $ otherPlayer winner) ++ " is a loser lol"

Answer 1

Code style is often a matter of personal preference, in Haskell arguably more than in other languages with a "standard" style guide. Still, here's a few random suggestions.
Don't over-indent cases: just use another line
case gameMode of "1" -> onePlayerMode
"2" -> twoPlayerMode
gameMode -> gameSelect
vs
case gameMode of
"1" -> onePlayerMode
"2" -> twoPlayerMode
gameMode -> gameSelect
or even
case gameMode of
"1" -> onePlayerMode
"2" -> twoPlayerMode
_ -> gameSelect
case is usually preferred to if .. == Constructor:
if player == PX
then enterMove 1 board player
else enterBestMove board PO
vs
case player of
PX -> enterMove 1 board player
PY -> enterBestMove board PO
I'd strongly recommend against using partial functions like fromJust, since they can crash your program if you forget to check for Nothing beforehand. Safer alternatives exist, which never cause such crashes -- less burden on the programmer.
if detectWin b == Nothing
then snd (findBestMove (if player == PX then PO else PX) b)
else fromJust $ detectWin b
vs
case detectWin b of
Nothing -> snd $ findBestMove (if player == PX then PO else PX) b
Just x -> x
or
fromMaybe (snd $ findBestMove (if player == PX then PO else PX) b)
$ detectWin b
Try to factorize commonly used functions. For instance
nextPlayer PX = PO
nextPlayer PO = PX
can replace uses of
if player == PX then PO else PX
No do is needed when there's only one statement:
if noOfPlayers == 1
then do putStrLn ("Make your move. (A-I)") -- no need for parentheses here
else do putStrLn (show player ++ ", it's your turn. (A-I)")
Since you mention where in the title, let me state that I have mixed feelings about where, in general. I know I often tend to avoid where in favor of let, but this feeling is not shared with many other Haskellers, so take this with some care.
Personally, I tend to limit my where uses to one-liners:
foo = f x y
where x = ...
y = ...
Especially in do blocks, which might span several lines, I prefer lets:
foo = do
line
line using x -- what is x ??!?
line
...
line
where x = ... -- ah, here it is
vs
foo = do
line
let x = ...
line using x
line
...
line
However, feel free to adopt the style you find more readable.
Also don't forget to add a few comments, as #mawalker points out. Some definitions are obvious and don't need any explanation. Others could benefit from a few lines explaining the purpose.