GHC status report

[Edward Kmett]

Figured I'd make one case for dynamic linking:

https://github.com/ekmett/rounded

Dynamic linking is finally enabling us to build a version of MPFR bindings
for Haskell for scientific/high precision computing with 7.8. I would
really hate to lose it after all of these years trying to get it work, as I
have a rather large edifice being built atop that platform. We tried and
failed due to limitations of the old linker for almost 3 years.

That said, -dynamic-too seems to cause me all sorts of problems elsewhere.
^C'ing out of a build and restarting it will often make a .o but lose the
.dyn_o, leading to GHC + cabal getting confused and refusing to build until
I clean. This hits me several times a day.

-Edward


On Thu, May 1, 2014 at 3:29 AM, Simon Peyton Jones <simonpj at microsoft.com>wrote:

> | Dynamic linking has been a huge headache in GHC, and it's not clear that
> | it's an overall improvement compared with the static linker.  Now that
> | 7.8 is out of the way, it's time to have a conversation about whether we
> | want to do dynamic linking again for 7.10, or revert to static linking.
>
> I echo this. Dynamic linking has had many un-anticipated costs and it is
> still very far from sorted out.  It originally felt like a Fantastic Idea
> to give up our own linker and adopt the system linker, but it now feels to
> me like a black hole, endlessly sucking effort and increasing complexity.
>
> My viewpoint is highly un-informed about details; I just watch the traffic
> going by.  And of course it does have benefits that doubtless generate less
> traffic.
>
> Simon
>
> |
> |
> |
> | >
> | > On Tue, Apr 29, 2014 at 6:13 PM, Simon Peyton Jones
> | > <simonpj at microsoft.com <mailto:simonpj at microsoft.com>> wrote:
> | >
> | >     As Austin has told us, there's a draft of the *GHC Status Report
> | for
> | >     the HCAR*, here:____
> | >
> | >     https://ghc.haskell.org/trac/ghc/wiki/Status/May14____
> | >
> | >     Have we missed out something  you have been working hard on?  Do
> | >     take a moment to add a bullet in an appropriate place (it's a
> | >     wiki).  I'd like to be sure that we are giving credit to all the
> | >     appropriate people, so please help us fix that too.  GHC is a team
> | >     effort.____
> | >
> | >     Deadline is 1 May I think.____
> | >
> | >     Thanks____
> | >
> | >     Simon____
> | >
> | >     __ __
> | >
> | >
> | >     _______________________________________________
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> | >     ghc-devs at haskell.org <mailto:ghc-devs at haskell.org>
> | >     http://www.haskell.org/mailman/listinfo/ghc-devs
> | >
> | >
> | >
> | >
> | > _______________________________________________
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> | > http://www.haskell.org/mailman/listinfo/ghc-devs
> | >
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