[Haskell-beginners] Can't install Haskell platform on Mac OS X El Capitan

[John Wiegley]

>>>>> Michael Snoyman <michael at snoyman.com> writes:

> As you can see, the vast majority of the poll respondents wanted the HP to
> be the least recommended option on the page, and a number of comments said
> it should be done away with entirely.

Just a note for others who might not have noticed: The HP is now last on the
downloads list, as desired by many.

One thing I'd like to distinguish is between the "HP today" that we deliver
via that page, and the "HP as a product" -- that is, a single downloadable
artifact that serves as the best way to get newcomers started with Haskell.

We don't yet have the HP we want, although we're actively working toward it.
What I hope is that any discussion of the Platform will take this difference
into account. I sympathize with current frustration about the HP, yet the
*role* the HP is supposed to fill is still valid.

Maybe this means the HP becomes a pretty wrapper around cabal or stack, with a
pre-seeded local repository so the user already has a copy of GHC after
downloading it... I don't know. But we do want a "single point of entry" for
downloaders, that satisfies the needs of both active Haskell developers who
need to deliver their code to clients, and brand new users who know nothing
about package management, and who just want a REPL to follow along with their
professor.

So let the technical arguments fly about current approaches, but I hope we can
all rally a similar idea of what we want in the end: An easy start to Haskell,
and an easy ongoing experience.

John