10.3 Abstract typeclass declarations

Abstract typeclass declarations are typeclass declarations whose definitions are hidden. An abstract typeclass declaration has the same form as a typeclass declaration, but without the ‘where[…]’ part. An abstract typeclass declaration defines a name for a set of (sequences of) types, but does not define what methods must be implemented for instances of the type class.

Like abstract type declarations, abstract typeclass declarations are only useful in the interface section of a module. Each abstract typeclass declaration must be accompanied by a corresponding non-abstract typeclass declaration that defines the methods for that type class.

Non-abstract instance declarations can only be made in scopes where the non-abstract typeclass declaration is visible.