Added OptionT.none, resolving #935

core/src/main/scala/cats/data/OptionT.scala

@@ -94,6 +94,13 @@ object OptionT extends OptionTInstances {
   def pure[F[_], A](a: A)(implicit F: Applicative[F]): OptionT[F, A] =
     OptionT(F.pure(Some(a)))
 
+  /** An alias for pure */
+  def some[F[_], A](a: A)(implicit F: Applicative[F]): OptionT[F, A] =
+    pure(a)
+
+  def none[F[_], A](implicit F: Applicative[F]) : OptionT[F, A] =
+    OptionT(F.pure(None))
+
   /**
    * Transforms an `Option` into an `OptionT`, lifted into the specified `Applicative`.
    *

docs/src/main/tut/optiont.md

@@ -72,6 +72,23 @@ val result: Future[Option[String]] = ot.value // Future(Some("Hello Jane Doe"))
 
 ```
 
+## From `A` to `OptionT[F,A]`
+
+If you have only an `A` and you wish to *lift* it into an `OptionT[F,A]` assuming you have an [`Applicative`]({{ site.baseurl }}/tut/applicative.html) instance for `F` you can use `some` which is an alias for `pure`. There also exists a `none` method which can be used to create an `OptionT[F,A]`, where the `Option` wrapped `A` type is actually a `None`:
+
+```tut:silent
+
+import cats.std.future._
+
+val greet: OptionT[Future,String] = OptionT.pure("Hola!")
+
+val greetAlt: OptionT[Future,String] = OptionT.some("Hi!")
+
+val failedGreet: OptionT[Future,String] = OptionT.none
+
+```
+
+
 ## Beyond map
 
 Sometimes the operation you want to perform on an `Future[Option[String]]` might not be as simple as just wrapping the `Option` method in a `Future.map` call. For example, what if we want to greet the customer with their custom greeting if it exists but otherwise fall back to a default `Future[String]` greeting? Without `OptionT`, this implementation might look like:

tests/src/test/scala/cats/tests/OptionTTests.scala

@@ -134,6 +134,10 @@ class OptionTTests extends CatsSuite {
     OptionT[Xor[String, ?], Int](xor).show should === ("Xor.Right(Some(1))")
   }
 
+  test("none") {
+    OptionT.none[List,Int] should === (OptionT[List,Int](List(None)))
+  }
+
   test("implicit Show[OptionT] instance and explicit show method are consistent") {
     forAll { optionT: OptionT[List, Int] =>
       optionT.show should === (implicitly[Show[OptionT[List, Int]]].show(optionT))