[arch-haskell] On datafiles in libraries

[Magnus Therning]

On 07/01/11 09:35, Peter Simons wrote:
> Hi Magnus,
>
>  > https://github.com/archhaskell/cabal2arch/issues#issue/20
>
> thank you for tackling this problem.
>
>> I think that we should remove the data files completely from the packages
>> and only host them at a well-known URL (on kiwilight.com or haskell.org).
>
> The notion that those files reside on a remote server concerns me a little,
> because it means that reproducibility goes, basically, straight out of the
> window. If you run cabal2arch to generate a PKGBUILD, and then run the exact
> same command just a few seconds later, it might generate a different
> PKGBUILD just because some invisible file has changed on a remote server at
> the other side of the earth. That property feels like it's bound to create
> surprises for people. Also, this change would reduce the amount of
> information expressed by cabal2arch's version number even further into the
> direction of "zero" than it already is.

The file online would be the correct one, so if you run cabal2arch twice and
the second time the file has been updated, then the PKGBUILD resulting from
the second run is more correct than the one from the first run.

Would the file really change so often that this scenario is common?

If you care about reproducibility then you can always instruct cabal2arch to
use a local file.

In short, I don't have any of the concerns you have :-)

On the other hand, I'm perfectly fine with including the files in the
cabal2arch package and install them (though they might as well be compiled
into the executable in that case).  All the while keeping the ability to
specify which files to use on the command line.

/M

-- 
Magnus Therning                      OpenPGP: 0xAB4DFBA4
email: magnus at therning.org   jabber: magnus at therning.org
twitter: magthe               http://therning.org/magnus

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