> For the complete documentation index, see [llms.txt](https://haskell.hpmeducation.com/llms.txt). Markdown versions of documentation pages are available by appending `.md` to page URLs; this page is available as [Markdown](https://haskell.hpmeducation.com/type-classes/introduction.md).

# Introduction

**Classes** in Haskell are used to ensure that certain **methods** (functions) are supported by any type that is an instance of the given `Class` (in other words, belongs to the given class). We can think of classes as **collections of types that support the operations of that class**. Let's explore the basic built-in classes in Haskell to get a better idea.