A Pitfall in Scala Implicits

by

Consider the following code:

import cats._

case class MyClass(a: Int)

object Main {
  implicit val myMonoid = Monoid[MyClass]

  def main(args: Array[String]): Unit = {
    println(myMonoid)
  }
}

For those unfamiliar with Cats/Scalaz, Monoid is a simulacrum-generated typeclass, so its apply method simply resolves the implicit in scope. It looks something like this:

object Monoid {
  def apply[T](implicit m: Monoid[T]): Monoid[T] = m
  // ...
}

This code will not compile because the Monoid cannot be implicitly resolved. However:

import cats._

case class MyClass(a: Int)

object Main {
  implicit val myMonoid: Monoid[MyClass] = Monoid[MyClass]

  def main(args: Array[String]): Unit = {
    println(myMonoid)
  }
}

This will compile and print null. It resolves the implicit using the default empty null value!

Be careful when exporting implicits in your objects.

Thanks for reading! Have any questions, comments, or suggestions? Feel free to use the comment section below or email me at blog@igm.pub and I'll do my best to respond.

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