GHC status report

[Simon Marlow]

On 01/05/14 15:27, Edward Kmett wrote:
> 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.

I understand the issues with MPFR.  But how is dynamic linking helping?

> 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.

We should fix this (or at least make it a lot less likely).  Is there a 
ticket?

Cheers,
Simon


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