haskell-lectures/VL1/content/VL1_lists1.tex

The list is probably the most basic data structure in Haskell. Like the array in C. It is a singly-linked list and is very lazy. The compiler has numerous ways to optimize lists, so don't be afraid to use them, even for huge things.
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We build lists by using either the \hinline{[]} notation:
\begin{haskellcode}
list1 :: [Integer]
list1 = [1, 2]
\end{haskellcode}
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or by using the \emph{cons} operator \hinline{(:)} which takes an element and a list and produces a new list with the element prepended to the front.
\begin{haskellcode}
emptyList = []

list2 = 1 : []

-- is this really a list?
list3 = [1, 2] == 1 : 2 : []
\end{haskellcode}
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How about something more interesting:
\begin{haskellcode}
infiniteList = [1..]
\end{haskellcode}