[Hackage] #331: pkg-config error messages could be better

[Hackage]

#331: pkg-config error messages could be better
----------------------------+-----------------------------------------------
  Reporter:  duncan         |        Owner:                     
      Type:  defect         |       Status:  new                
  Priority:  normal         |    Milestone:                     
 Component:  Cabal library  |      Version:  1.4.0.1            
  Severity:  normal         |   Resolution:                     
  Keywords:                 |   Difficulty:  very easy (<1 hour)
Ghcversion:  6.8.2          |     Platform:                     
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Comment (by duncan):

 Replying to [comment:1 joe]:
 > I took a stab at rewording the message, trying to clarify the fact that
 it's not a hackage package while still keeping the message short.  Here's
 a patch:

 Thanks Joe but the change you suggest is making the message more low-level
 with this talk about `pkg-config --modversion`
 {{{
 -  notFound     = "The pkg-config package " ++ pkg ++ versionRequirement
 -              ++ " is required but it could not be found."
 +  notFound     = "The development package " ++ pkg ++ versionRequirement
 +              ++ " is required but it could not be found using pkg-config
 --modversion"
 }}}
 The users who are confused about this message are confused about whether
 it's talking about a system package or a Haskell package. They've probably
 never heard of pkg-config and do not know what it does.

 I think it's ok to have a slightly longer message, perhaps more along the
 lines of what we show for missing C libs:
 {{{
 Setup.hs: Missing dependency on a foreign library:
 * Missing header file: foo.h
 This problem can usually be solved by installing the system package that
 provides this library (you may need the "-dev" version). If the library is
 already installed but in a non-standard location then you can use the
 flags
 --extra-include-dirs= and --extra-lib-dirs= to specify where it is.
 }}}

-- 
Ticket URL: <http://hackage.haskell.org/trac/hackage/ticket/331#comment:2>
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