OO-Like interface implementation in Haskell

data Spell = Spell{ spellName :: String
                  , spellCost :: Integer
                  , spellHpDmg :: Integer
                  , spellMpDmg :: Integer
                  , spellElem :: Maybe Element
                  , spellStatus :: Maybe Status
                  }
                  deriving (Eq,Show,Read)

class Castable s where
    onCast :: s -> (CastResult, Maybe Status)

instance Castable Spell where
    onCast s = ((spellHpDmg s, spellMgDmg s), spellStatus s)

This would probably do the trick here, not sure whether the class is useful in this case though. Is something else than a Spell castable? Something like a Skill, or an Item?


Type classes are useful when you're dealing with different types. In this case, however, it seems to me like you're dealing with separate instances. In such a case, it's probably simplest to have the cast function be just another record field.

data Spell = Spell{spellName :: String,
                   ...
                   onCast :: Either (Maybe Status) CastResult }
    deriving (Eq,Show,Read)

bio = Spell { spellName = "Bio", onCast = Left (Just Poison), ... } 

Or you could do something that models your requirements more explicitly, using domain-specific types rather than generic ones like Either.

type ManaPoints = Integer
type HitPoints  = Integer

data Spell = Spell { spellName :: String,
                     spellCost :: ManaPoints,
                     spellElem :: Maybe Element,
                     spellEffect :: Effect }

data Effect = Damage  HitPoints ManaPoints
            | Inflict Status

cast :: Spell -> Player -> Player
cast spell player =
    case spellEffect spell of
        Damage hp mana = ...
        Inflict status = ...

bio  = Spell { spellName = "Bio", spellEffect = Inflict Poison, ... }
fire = Spell { spellName = "Fire", spellEffect = Damage 100 0, ... }