How can different types share data?

Question
Solution
Alternative Solution
type Animal
= Dog DogData
| Bird BirdData
type alias DogData =
{ name : String
, runningSpeed : Float
}
type alias BirdData =
{ name : String
, wingSpan : Float
}
{-| This function should work for all Animals
-}
getName {name} =
name
type alias Animal =
{ name : String, data : AnimalData}
type AnimalData
= Dog DogData
| Bird BirdData
type alias DogData =
{ runningSpeed : Float
}
type alias BirdData =
{ wingSpan : Float
}
getName : Animal -> String
getName {name} =
name
type Animal =
Dog DogData
| Bird BirdData
type alias AnimalData species =
{species| name : String}
type alias DogData =
AnimalData {runningSpeed:Float}
type alias BirdData =
AnimalData {wingSpan:Float}
getName : AnimalData species -> String
getName {name} =
name

Question

How can I write one function for all animals, that returns just the name.

Answer

Put the common data, in our case the name, all in one case and separate it from the differing data.

Further Reading