For years, developers have regarded Haskell as an esoteric language reserved for academics—a perception reinforced by memes about monads and category theory. Yet one programmer's experience building a specialized diagramming DSL reveals a different reality. After wrestling with five other languages, they found Haskell unexpectedly intuitive and productive.

The Quest for the Right Tool

The project—microdiagrams—demanded a domain-specific language (DSL) to visualize piano key relationships. Early prototypes in Clojure, Elixir, OCaml, Go, and Prolog all failed:

  • Elixir collapsed under message-passing complexity
  • Clojure required "back-bending" workarounds
  • Prolog's backtracking promise proved a "Fata Morgana"
  • OCaml's constraint system turned verbose
  • Go lacked expressiveness
Article illustration 1

Sample piano diagram from the microdiagrams project (Source: xlii.space)

The Haskell Breakthrough

As a last resort, the developer tried Haskell—and completed more progress in three days than in previous months. Contrary to expectations:

  • Type errors guided rather than obstructed
  • Monads and applicatives flowed naturally post-OCaml experience
  • The compiler became a collaborative partner ("I got ya bro!")

"My mind is blown," they reported. "I move forward all the time."

Why the Fit Matters

This experience underscores critical truths about developer productivity:

  1. Personal resonance trumps popularity: Haskell's mathematical reputation scared many, but its purity aligned perfectly with the problem domain
  2. Prior exposure matters: Previous struggles with monads in OCaml created foundational understanding
  3. Joy accelerates progress: The absence of "sharp edges" enabled flow state

"Technology we use either pushes us forward or drags us back. I don’t like to struggle with the language."
— Source: xlii.space

While Haskell won't suit every project, this case reveals how perceived "difficult" tools can become accelerators when they align with a developer's mental models and project requirements. The microdiagrams experiment proves that sometimes, the most intimidating path offers the smoothest ride.

Source: Original post by xlii.space