GHC status report

[Carter Schonwald]

 another example of a library that becomes usable in ghci with 7.8 is
llvm-general.
Namely, with ghc 7.8, when llvm-general is built so it dynamically links to
the system's LLVM library, I can run / invoke LLVM operations in GHCi.

I believe that this is due to the same reason many other libraries wouldn't
work in ghci historically, namely the GHC static linker can't handle
linking to the various  C++ things (i forget the names of the linkage
notions come up when loading C++, whatever those are)


hackage.haskell.org/package/llvm-general

mind you this is only when the sharedllvm flag is switched on.

This of course has the down side that an llvm-general install thats
suitable for interactive experimentation is not an llvm-beneral install
thats suitable for distributing static linked binaries.



On Thu, May 1, 2014 at 5:30 PM, Simon Marlow <marlowsd at gmail.com> wrote:

> 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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>>     | > ghc-devs at haskell.org <mailto:ghc-devs at haskell.org>
>>     <mailto:ghc-devs at haskell.org <mailto:ghc-devs at haskell.org>>
>>
>>     | > http://www.haskell.org/mailman/listinfo/ghc-devs
>>     | >
>>     | >
>>     | >
>>     | >
>>     | > _______________________________________________
>>     | > ghc-devs mailing list
>>     | > ghc-devs at haskell.org <mailto:ghc-devs at haskell.org>
>>     | > http://www.haskell.org/mailman/listinfo/ghc-devs
>>     | >
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