diff --git a/compiler/cpp/src/generate/t_hs_generator.cc b/compiler/cpp/src/generate/t_hs_generator.cc
index 9fd1686..f275261 100644
--- a/compiler/cpp/src/generate/t_hs_generator.cc
+++ b/compiler/cpp/src/generate/t_hs_generator.cc
@@ -168,7 +168,7 @@
   string type_to_enum(t_type* ttype);
 
   string render_hs_type(t_type* type,
-                        bool needs_parens = true);
+                        bool needs_parens);
 
  private:
   ofstream f_types_;
@@ -211,6 +211,7 @@
 
 string t_hs_generator::hs_language_pragma() {
   return string("{-# LANGUAGE DeriveDataTypeable #-}\n"
+                "{-# LANGUAGE OverloadedStrings #-}\n"
                 "{-# OPTIONS_GHC -fno-warn-missing-fields #-}\n"
                 "{-# OPTIONS_GHC -fno-warn-missing-signatures #-}\n"
                 "{-# OPTIONS_GHC -fno-warn-name-shadowing #-}\n"
@@ -238,16 +239,21 @@
       "import Prelude ( Bool(..), Enum, Double, String, Maybe(..),\n"
       "                 Eq, Show, Ord,\n"
       "                 return, length, IO, fromIntegral, fromEnum, toEnum,\n"
-      "                 (&&), (||), (==), (++), ($), (-) )\n"
+      "                 (.), (&&), (||), (==), (++), ($), (-) )\n"
       "\n"
       "import Control.Exception\n"
       "import Data.ByteString.Lazy\n"
+      "import Data.Hashable\n"
       "import Data.Int\n"
+      "import Data.Text.Lazy ( Text )\n"
+      "import qualified Data.Text.Lazy as TL\n"
       "import Data.Typeable ( Typeable )\n"
-      "import qualified Data.Map as Map\n"
-      "import qualified Data.Set as Set\n"
+      "import qualified Data.HashMap.Strict as Map\n"
+      "import qualified Data.HashSet as Set\n"
+      "import qualified Data.Vector as Vector\n"
       "\n"
       "import Thrift\n"
+      "import Thrift.Types ()\n"
       "\n");
 
   for (size_t i = 0; i < includes.size(); ++i)
@@ -303,22 +309,19 @@
   indent_down();
 
   string ename = capitalize(tenum->get_name());
+
   indent(f_types_) << "instance Enum " << ename << " where" << endl;
   indent_up();
-
   indent(f_types_) << "fromEnum t = case t of" << endl;
   indent_up();
-
   for (c_iter = constants.begin(); c_iter != constants.end(); ++c_iter) {
     int value = (*c_iter)->get_value();
     string name = capitalize((*c_iter)->get_name());
     indent(f_types_) << name << " -> " << value << endl;
   }
   indent_down();
-
   indent(f_types_) << "toEnum t = case t of" << endl;
   indent_up();
-
   for(c_iter = constants.begin(); c_iter != constants.end(); ++c_iter) {
     int value = (*c_iter)->get_value();
     string name = capitalize((*c_iter)->get_name());
@@ -327,6 +330,11 @@
   indent(f_types_) << "_ -> throw ThriftException" << endl;
   indent_down();
   indent_down();
+
+  indent(f_types_) << "instance Hashable " << ename << " where" << endl;
+  indent_up();
+  indent(f_types_) << "hashWithSalt salt = hashWithSalt salt . fromEnum" << endl;
+  indent_down();
 }
 
 /**
@@ -463,9 +471,9 @@
     vector<t_const_value*>::const_iterator v_iter;
 
     if (type->is_set())
-      out << "(Set.fromList ";
-
-    out << "[";
+      out << "(Set.fromList [";
+    else
+      out << "(Vector.fromList ";
 
     bool first = true;
     for (v_iter = val.begin(); v_iter != val.end(); ++v_iter) {
@@ -474,10 +482,7 @@
       first = false;
     }
 
-    out << "]";
-
-    if (type->is_set())
-      out << ")";
+    out << "])";
 
   } else {
     throw "CANNOT GENERATE CONSTANT FOR TYPE: " + type->get_name();
@@ -535,17 +540,27 @@
     for (m_iter = members.begin(); m_iter != members.end(); ++m_iter) {
       string mname = (*m_iter)->get_name();
       out << (first ? "" : ",");
-      out << "f_" << tname << "_" << mname << " :: Maybe " << render_hs_type((*m_iter)->get_type());
+      out << "f_" << tname << "_" << mname << " :: Maybe " << render_hs_type((*m_iter)->get_type(), true);
       first = false;
     }
     out << "}";
   }
 
-  out << " deriving (Show,Eq,Ord,Typeable)" << endl;
+  out << " deriving (Show,Eq,Typeable)" << endl;
 
   if (is_exception)
     out << "instance Exception " << tname << endl;
 
+  indent(out) << "instance Hashable " << tname << " where" << endl;
+  indent_up();
+  indent(out) << "hashWithSalt salt record = salt";
+  for (m_iter = members.begin(); m_iter != members.end(); ++m_iter) {
+    string mname = (*m_iter)->get_name();
+    indent(out) << " `hashWithSalt` " << "f_" << tname << "_" << mname << " record";
+  }
+  indent(out) << endl;
+  indent_down();
+
   generate_hs_struct_writer(out, tstruct);
   generate_hs_struct_reader(out, tstruct);
 }
@@ -971,7 +986,7 @@
     indent(f_service_) << "skip iprot T_STRUCT" << endl;
     indent(f_service_) << "readMessageEnd iprot" << endl;
     indent(f_service_) << "writeMessageBegin oprot (name,M_EXCEPTION,seqid)" << endl;
-    indent(f_service_) << "writeAppExn oprot (AppExn AE_UNKNOWN_METHOD (\"Unknown function \" ++ name))" << endl;
+    indent(f_service_) << "writeAppExn oprot (AppExn AE_UNKNOWN_METHOD (\"Unknown function \" ++ TL.unpack name))" << endl;
     indent(f_service_) << "writeMessageEnd oprot" << endl;
     indent(f_service_) << "tFlush (getTransport oprot)" << endl;
     indent_down();
@@ -1210,9 +1225,9 @@
     out << ";r <- f (n-1); return $ v:r}} in do {(" << etype << "," << size << ") <- readSetBegin iprot; l <- f " << size << "; return $ Set.fromList l})";
 
   } else if (ttype->is_list()) {
-    out << "(let {f 0 = return []; f n = do {v <- ";
+    out << "(let f n = Vector.replicateM (fromIntegral n) (";
     generate_deserialize_type(out,((t_map*)ttype)->get_key_type());
-    out << ";r <- f (n-1); return $ v:r}} in do {(" << etype << "," << size << ") <- readListBegin iprot; f " << size << "})";
+    out << ") in do {(" << etype << "," << size << ") <- readListBegin iprot; f " << size << "})";
   }
 }
 
@@ -1323,9 +1338,9 @@
 
   } else if (ttype->is_list()) {
     string v = tmp("_viter");
-    out << "(let {f [] = return (); f (" << v << ":t) = do {";
+    out << "(let f = Vector.mapM_ (\\" << v << " -> ";
     generate_serialize_list_element(out, (t_list*)ttype, v);
-    out << ";f t}} in do {writeListBegin oprot (" << type_to_enum(((t_list*)ttype)->get_elem_type()) << ",fromIntegral $ Prelude.length " << prefix << "); f " << prefix << ";writeListEnd oprot})";
+    out << ") in do {writeListBegin oprot (" << type_to_enum(((t_list*)ttype)->get_elem_type()) << ",fromIntegral $ Vector.length " << prefix << "); f " << prefix << ";writeListEnd oprot})";
   }
 
 }
@@ -1450,7 +1465,7 @@
     t_base_type::t_base tbase = ((t_base_type*)type)->get_base();
     switch (tbase) {
     case t_base_type::TYPE_VOID:   return "()";
-    case t_base_type::TYPE_STRING: return (((t_base_type*)type)->is_binary() ? "ByteString" : "String");
+    case t_base_type::TYPE_STRING: return (((t_base_type*)type)->is_binary() ? "ByteString" : "Text");
     case t_base_type::TYPE_BOOL:   return "Bool";
     case t_base_type::TYPE_BYTE:   return "Int8";
     case t_base_type::TYPE_I16:    return "Int16";
@@ -1468,15 +1483,15 @@
   } else if (type->is_map()) {
     t_type* ktype = ((t_map*)type)->get_key_type();
     t_type* vtype = ((t_map*)type)->get_val_type();
-    type_repr = "Map.Map " + render_hs_type(ktype, true) + " " + render_hs_type(vtype, true);
+    type_repr = "Map.HashMap " + render_hs_type(ktype, true) + " " + render_hs_type(vtype, true);
 
   } else if (type->is_set()) {
     t_type* etype = ((t_set*)type)->get_elem_type();
-    type_repr = "Set.Set " + render_hs_type(etype, true) ;
+    type_repr = "Set.HashSet " + render_hs_type(etype, true) ;
 
   } else if (type->is_list()) {
     t_type* etype = ((t_list*)type)->get_elem_type();
-    return "[" + render_hs_type(etype, false) + "]";
+    type_repr = "Vector.Vector " + render_hs_type(etype, true);
 
   } else {
     throw "INVALID TYPE IN type_to_enum: " + type->get_name();
diff --git a/lib/hs/README b/lib/hs/README
index bbfe699..fe525bd 100644
--- a/lib/hs/README
+++ b/lib/hs/README
@@ -43,7 +43,7 @@
  * i16 -> Data.Int.Int16
  * i32 -> Data.Int.Int32
  * i64 -> Data.Int.Int64
- * string -> String
+ * string -> Text
  * binary -> Data.ByteString.Lazy
  * bool -> Boolean
 
@@ -52,6 +52,17 @@
 
 Become Haskell 'data' types. Use fromEnum to get out the int value.
 
+Lists
+=====
+
+Become Data.Vector.Vector from the vector package.
+
+Maps and Sets
+=============
+
+Become Data.HashMap.Strict.Map and Data.HashSet.Set from the
+unordered-containers package.
+
 Structs
 =======
 
@@ -61,7 +72,7 @@
 Exceptions
 ==========
 
-Identical to structs. Throw them with throwDyn. Catch them with catchDyn.
+Identical to structs. Use them with throw and catch from Control.Exception.
 
 Client
 ======
@@ -86,4 +97,3 @@
 
 Just a function that takes a handler label, protocols. It calls the
 superclasses process if there is a superclass.
-
diff --git a/lib/hs/Thrift.cabal b/lib/hs/Thrift.cabal
index 393e064..cf02e12 100644
--- a/lib/hs/Thrift.cabal
+++ b/lib/hs/Thrift.cabal
@@ -36,13 +36,23 @@
   Hs-Source-Dirs:
     src
   Build-Depends:
-    base >= 4, base < 5, network, ghc-prim, binary, bytestring, HTTP
+    base >= 4, base < 5, network, ghc-prim, binary, bytestring, hashable, HTTP, text, unordered-containers, vector
   Exposed-Modules:
-    Thrift, Thrift.Protocol, Thrift.Protocol.Binary, Thrift.Transport, 
-    Thrift.Transport.Framed, Thrift.Transport.Handle,
-    Thrift.Transport.HttpClient, Thrift.Server
+    Thrift,
+    Thrift.Protocol,
+    Thrift.Protocol.Binary,
+    Thrift.Server,
+    Thrift.Transport,
+    Thrift.Transport.Framed,
+    Thrift.Transport.Handle,
+    Thrift.Transport.HttpClient,
+    Thrift.Types
   Extensions:
-    DeriveDataTypeable, ExistentialQuantification, FlexibleInstances,
-    KindSignatures, MagicHash, RankNTypes,
-    ScopedTypeVariables, TypeSynonymInstances
-
+    DeriveDataTypeable,
+    ExistentialQuantification,
+    FlexibleInstances,
+    KindSignatures,
+    MagicHash,
+    RankNTypes,
+    ScopedTypeVariables,
+    TypeSynonymInstances
diff --git a/lib/hs/src/Thrift.hs b/lib/hs/src/Thrift.hs
index e57cff5..42f5d32 100644
--- a/lib/hs/src/Thrift.hs
+++ b/lib/hs/src/Thrift.hs
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 {-# LANGUAGE DeriveDataTypeable #-}
 {-# LANGUAGE KindSignatures #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE OverloadedStrings #-}
 {-# LANGUAGE RankNTypes #-}
 --
 -- Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
@@ -33,6 +34,7 @@
 import Control.Monad ( when )
 import Control.Exception
 
+import Data.Text.Lazy ( pack, unpack )
 import Data.Typeable ( Typeable )
 
 import Thrift.Transport
@@ -84,7 +86,7 @@
 
     when (ae_message ae /= "") $ do
         writeFieldBegin pt ("message", T_STRING , 1)
-        writeString pt (ae_message ae)
+        writeString pt (pack $ ae_message ae)
         writeFieldEnd pt
 
     writeFieldBegin pt ("type", T_I32, 2);
@@ -108,7 +110,7 @@
         else case tag of
                  1 -> if ft == T_STRING then
                           do s <- readString pt
-                             readAppExnFields pt record{ae_message = s}
+                             readAppExnFields pt record{ae_message = unpack s}
                           else do skip pt ft
                                   readAppExnFields pt record
                  2 -> if ft == T_I32 then
diff --git a/lib/hs/src/Thrift/Protocol.hs b/lib/hs/src/Thrift/Protocol.hs
index 1a31932..f3b342a 100644
--- a/lib/hs/src/Thrift/Protocol.hs
+++ b/lib/hs/src/Thrift/Protocol.hs
@@ -29,9 +29,10 @@
 
 import Control.Monad ( replicateM_, unless )
 import Control.Exception
-import Data.Int
-import Data.Typeable ( Typeable )
 import Data.ByteString.Lazy
+import Data.Int
+import Data.Text.Lazy ( Text )
+import Data.Typeable ( Typeable )
 
 import Thrift.Transport
 
@@ -102,12 +103,12 @@
 class Protocol a where
     getTransport :: Transport t => a t -> t
 
-    writeMessageBegin :: Transport t => a t -> (String, MessageType, Int32) -> IO ()
+    writeMessageBegin :: Transport t => a t -> (Text, MessageType, Int32) -> IO ()
     writeMessageEnd   :: Transport t => a t -> IO ()
 
-    writeStructBegin :: Transport t => a t -> String -> IO ()
+    writeStructBegin :: Transport t => a t -> Text -> IO ()
     writeStructEnd   :: Transport t => a t -> IO ()
-    writeFieldBegin  :: Transport t => a t -> (String, ThriftType, Int16) -> IO ()
+    writeFieldBegin  :: Transport t => a t -> (Text, ThriftType, Int16) -> IO ()
     writeFieldEnd    :: Transport t => a t -> IO ()
     writeFieldStop   :: Transport t => a t -> IO ()
     writeMapBegin    :: Transport t => a t -> (ThriftType, ThriftType, Int32) -> IO ()
@@ -123,16 +124,16 @@
     writeI32    :: Transport t => a t -> Int32 -> IO ()
     writeI64    :: Transport t => a t -> Int64 -> IO ()
     writeDouble :: Transport t => a t -> Double -> IO ()
-    writeString :: Transport t => a t -> String -> IO ()
+    writeString :: Transport t => a t -> Text -> IO ()
     writeBinary :: Transport t => a t -> ByteString -> IO ()
 
 
-    readMessageBegin :: Transport t => a t -> IO (String, MessageType, Int32)
+    readMessageBegin :: Transport t => a t -> IO (Text, MessageType, Int32)
     readMessageEnd   :: Transport t => a t -> IO ()
 
-    readStructBegin :: Transport t => a t -> IO String
+    readStructBegin :: Transport t => a t -> IO Text
     readStructEnd   :: Transport t => a t -> IO ()
-    readFieldBegin  :: Transport t => a t -> IO (String, ThriftType, Int16)
+    readFieldBegin  :: Transport t => a t -> IO (Text, ThriftType, Int16)
     readFieldEnd    :: Transport t => a t -> IO ()
     readMapBegin    :: Transport t => a t -> IO (ThriftType, ThriftType, Int32)
     readMapEnd      :: Transport t => a t -> IO ()
@@ -147,7 +148,7 @@
     readI32    :: Transport t => a t -> IO Int32
     readI64    :: Transport t => a t -> IO Int64
     readDouble :: Transport t => a t -> IO Double
-    readString :: Transport t => a t -> IO String
+    readString :: Transport t => a t -> IO Text
     readBinary :: Transport t => a t -> IO ByteString
 
 
diff --git a/lib/hs/src/Thrift/Protocol/Binary.hs b/lib/hs/src/Thrift/Protocol/Binary.hs
index c55ea5a..1bc9add 100644
--- a/lib/hs/src/Thrift/Protocol/Binary.hs
+++ b/lib/hs/src/Thrift/Protocol/Binary.hs
@@ -1,5 +1,6 @@
 {-# LANGUAGE ExistentialQuantification #-}
 {-# LANGUAGE MagicHash #-}
+{-# LANGUAGE OverloadedStrings #-}
 --
 -- Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
 -- or more contributor license agreements. See the NOTICE file
@@ -30,6 +31,7 @@
 import qualified Data.Binary
 import Data.Bits
 import Data.Int
+import Data.Text.Lazy.Encoding ( decodeUtf8, encodeUtf8 )
 
 import GHC.Exts
 import GHC.Word
@@ -38,7 +40,6 @@
 import Thrift.Transport
 
 import qualified Data.ByteString.Lazy as LBS
-import qualified Data.ByteString.Lazy.Char8 as LBSChar8
 
 version_mask :: Int32
 version_mask = 0xffff0000
@@ -76,7 +77,9 @@
     writeI32 p b = tWrite (getTransport p) $ Data.Binary.encode b
     writeI64 p b = tWrite (getTransport p) $ Data.Binary.encode b
     writeDouble p d = writeI64 p (fromIntegral $ floatBits d)
-    writeString p s = writeI32 p (fromIntegral $ length s) >> tWrite (getTransport p) (LBSChar8.pack s)
+    writeString p s = writeI32 p (fromIntegral $ LBS.length s') >> tWrite (getTransport p) s'
+      where
+        s' = encodeUtf8 s
     writeBinary p s = writeI32 p (fromIntegral $ LBS.length s) >> tWrite (getTransport p) s
 
     readMessageBegin p = do
@@ -136,7 +139,7 @@
 
     readString p = do
         i <- readI32 p
-        LBSChar8.unpack `liftM` tReadAll (getTransport p) (fromIntegral i)
+        decodeUtf8 `liftM` tReadAll (getTransport p) (fromIntegral i)
 
     readBinary p = do
         i <- readI32 p
diff --git a/lib/hs/src/Thrift/Transport/Handle.hs b/lib/hs/src/Thrift/Transport/Handle.hs
index 70d39e7..cf4822b 100644
--- a/lib/hs/src/Thrift/Transport/Handle.hs
+++ b/lib/hs/src/Thrift/Transport/Handle.hs
@@ -27,7 +27,9 @@
     , HandleSource(..)
     ) where
 
-import Control.Exception ( throw )
+import Prelude hiding ( catch )
+
+import Control.Exception ( catch, throw )
 import Control.Monad ()
 
 import Network
diff --git a/lib/hs/src/Thrift/Types.hs b/lib/hs/src/Thrift/Types.hs
new file mode 100644
index 0000000..e917e39
--- /dev/null
+++ b/lib/hs/src/Thrift/Types.hs
@@ -0,0 +1,34 @@
+-- Licensed to the Apache Software Foundation (ASF) under one
+-- or more contributor license agreements. See the NOTICE file
+-- distributed with this work for additional information
+-- regarding copyright ownership. The ASF licenses this file
+-- to you under the Apache License, Version 2.0 (the
+-- "License"); you may not use this file except in compliance
+-- with the License. You may obtain a copy of the License at
+--
+--   http://www.apache.org/licenses/LICENSE-2.0
+--
+-- Unless required by applicable law or agreed to in writing,
+-- software distributed under the License is distributed on an
+-- "AS IS" BASIS, WITHOUT WARRANTIES OR CONDITIONS OF ANY
+-- KIND, either express or implied. See the License for the
+-- specific language governing permissions and limitations
+-- under the License.
+--
+
+module Thrift.Types where
+
+import Data.Foldable (foldl')
+import Data.Hashable ( Hashable, hashWithSalt )
+import qualified Data.HashMap.Strict as Map
+import qualified Data.HashSet as Set
+import qualified Data.Vector as Vector
+
+instance (Hashable k, Hashable v) => Hashable (Map.HashMap k v) where
+  hashWithSalt salt = foldl' hashWithSalt salt . Map.toList
+
+instance (Hashable a) => Hashable (Set.HashSet a) where
+  hashWithSalt salt = foldl' hashWithSalt salt
+
+instance (Hashable a) => Hashable (Vector.Vector a) where
+  hashWithSalt salt = Vector.foldl' hashWithSalt salt