implicit-parameters.md

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A method can have an implicit parameter list, marked by the implicit keyword at the start of the parameter list. If the parameters in that parameter list are not passed as usual, Scala will look if it can get an implicit value of the correct type, and if it can, pass it automatically.

The places Scala will look for these parameters fall into two categories:

• Scala will first look for implicit definitions and implicit parameters that can be accessed directly (without a prefix) at the point the method with the implicit parameter block is called.
• Then it looks for members marked implicit in all the companion objects associated with the implicit candidate type.

A more detailed guide to where scala looks for implicits can be found in the FAQ

In the following example we define a method sum which computes the sum of a list of elements using the monoid's add and unit operations. Please note that implicit values can not be top-level.

abstract class Monoid[A] {
  def add(x: A, y: A): A
  def unit: A
}

object ImplicitTest {
  implicit val stringMonoid: Monoid[String] = new Monoid[String] {
    def add(x: String, y: String): String = x concat y
    def unit: String = ""
  }
  
  implicit val intMonoid: Monoid[Int] = new Monoid[Int] {
    def add(x: Int, y: Int): Int = x + y
    def unit: Int = 0
  }
  
  def sum[A](xs: List[A])(implicit m: Monoid[A]): A =
    if (xs.isEmpty) m.unit
    else m.add(xs.head, sum(xs.tail))
    
  def main(args: Array[String]): Unit = {
    println(sum(List(1, 2, 3)))       // uses intMonoid implicitly
    println(sum(List("a", "b", "c"))) // uses stringMonoid implicitly
  }
}

Monoid defines an operation called add here, that combines a pair of As and returns another A, together with an operation called unit that is able to create some (specific) A.

To show how implicit parameters work, we first define monoids stringMonoid and intMonoid for strings and integers, respectively. The implicit keyword indicates that the corresponding object can be used implicitly.

The method sum takes a List[A] and returns an A, which takes the initial A from unit, and combines each next A in the list to that with the add method. Making the parameter m implicit here means we only have to provide the xs parameter when we call the method if Scala can find a an implict Monoid[A] to use for the implicit m parameter.

In our main method we call sum twice, and only provide the xs parameter. Scala will now look for an implicit in the scope mentioned above. The first call to sum passes a List[Int] for xs, which means that A is Int. The implicit parameter list with m is left out, so Scala will look for an implicit of type Monoid[Int]. The first lookup rule reads

Scala will first look for implicit definitions and implicit parameters that can be accessed directly (without a prefix) at the point the method with the implicit parameter block is called.

intMonoid is an implicit definition that can be accessed directly in main. It is also of the correct type, so it's passed to the sum method automatically.

The second call to sum passes a List[String], which means that A is String. Implicit lookup will go the same way as with Int, but will this time find stringMonoid, and passes that automatically as m.

The program will output

6
abc