[Hackage] #364: cabal should allow source to be installed with/added to binary packages

[Hackage]

#364: cabal should allow source to be installed with/added to binary packages
----------------------------+-----------------------------------------------
  Reporter:  claus          |        Owner:         
      Type:  enhancement    |       Status:  new    
  Priority:  normal         |    Milestone:         
 Component:  Cabal library  |      Version:  1.2.3.0
  Severity:  normal         |     Keywords:         
Difficulty:  normal         |   Ghcversion:  6.8.2  
  Platform:                 |  
----------------------------+-----------------------------------------------
 We have the odd situation that package sources are used for
 `configure`/`build`/`haddock`/`install`/.., but aren't actually managed by
 cabal. This makes rebuilds (eg,with different options, or for another
 compiler version) or reinstalls (eg, with added or modified haddocks)
 somewhat chancey. Unless you keep your sources in a safe place, and
 remember where that was, you have to start by getting the sources again.

 (I assume that `cabal-install` has a cache of package source tarballs
 somewhere, but that doesn't account for modified-before-build-and-install
 package sources, right?)

 This is also an issue for source code analysis tools, if binary versions
 of imported packages aren't sufficient for processing the importing
 source. Haddock currently works around that by (a) being integrated with
 cabal and (b) generating its own interface files for installed packages
 (`*.haddock`); but we cannot expect all tools to be integrated with cabal.

 If tools and users could get programatic access to the sources that were
 used to install a package, they could refer to those for further
 processing. It is slightly ridiculous that the sources may be available in
 html-ized form (if haddock was used with appropriate options) but not in
 source form.

 See also:

 http://hackage.haskell.org/trac/ghc/ticket/2630

-- 
Ticket URL: <http://hackage.haskell.org/trac/hackage/ticket/364>
Hackage <http://haskell.org/cabal/>
Hackage: Cabal and related projects