[Hackage] #601: cabal setup doesn't respect --prefix

[Hackage]

#601: cabal setup doesn't respect --prefix
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  Reporter:  zooko          |        Owner:         
      Type:  defect         |       Status:  closed 
  Priority:  normal         |    Milestone:         
 Component:  Cabal library  |      Version:  1.6.0.1
  Severity:  normal         |   Resolution:  wontfix
  Keywords:                 |   Difficulty:  unknown
Ghcversion:                 |     Platform:         
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Comment (by duncan):

 What is impossible is being able to install into a completely random
 location in the filesystem and also have that installed package also be
 available in the environment by default.

 Sure, GNU stow uses the filesystem as the DB, but there something knows
 that the prefix containing the stow store is the database. GHC does not
 know that. Now you could imagine a design where you did tell ghc "there's
 an extra global package db at /usr/local/stow/var/ghc/package.conf" and
 then that location is inside the $prefix that you selected
 "/usr/local/stow" and so install could write to it.

 But of course that requires additional configuration to tell ghc that
 there's going to be this extra package db (and doing that will require
 writing out of the $prefix).

 So from a clean ghc installation I don't think there is any way to install
 packages and have them work by default that doesn't involve writing
 outside of the $prefix. It can certainly be arranged by prior
 configuration, but the question is what the defaults should be. Working by
 default is a fairly high priority.

-- 
Ticket URL: <http://hackage.haskell.org/trac/hackage/ticket/601#comment:6>
Hackage <http://haskell.org/cabal/>
Hackage: Cabal and related projects