flatMapbind

FlatMapbind is a term sometimes used in functional programming discussions to describe the operation that maps a function returning a monadic value over a monadic value and then flattens the result. In practice, it refers to the same underlying idea as the monadic bind, expressed in a way that emphasizes the binding step after a map.

In a generic monad M, flatMapbind has the type (a -> M b) -> M a -> M b. It applies a function to the value inside the monad and then flattens the resulting nested monad. This is essentially the same as the standard bind operation, which in different languages appears as flatMap (or bind) or as the operator (>>=) in Haskell.

FlatMapbind is not a standardized term in language specifications. It appears mainly in informal discussions or as a mnemonic to highlight the binding step that follows a map. Depending on the context, it may be used interchangeably with flatMap or with bind, but it is not a distinct primitive in most ecosystems.

Example intuition: given f: A -> M B and ma: M A, flatMapbind f ma yields the same result as applying f to the inner A and then flattening, i.e., if ma contains a value a, you get f a, and if ma is empty (or none), you get the empty/none value.

Languages with built-in support for this pattern use flatMap directly, or provide a bind operator such as >>= in Haskell. Some libraries or documentation may opt for flatMapbind to emphasize the sequencing of mapping followed by binding in monadic composition. See also monad, flatMap, bind, and join.