wither the Platform

[Benno Fünfstück]

I'd like the haskell platform to include all of LTS haskell. That includes
a very broad set of packages so you don't need to install many other
packages even as an advanced user.

Maybe there could also be a nightly release which includes stackage
instead?

It would save a lot of time even for experienced users, since they get
stackage precompiled.

However, such a distribution should be designed such that cabal install
just works, so it should probably be based on winghc on Windows.

The only problem I can see with this is the size of such a package, not
sure if it would be acceptable?

Neil Mitchell <ndmitchell at gmail.com> schrieb am So., 22. Mär. 2015 10:18:

> On Windows, the reason I used to use the Platform was that it came
> with an installed network library, and installing the network library
> on Windows is a real pain (and often fails). Unfortunately it was
> incredibly brittle, a single attempt at upgrading network from some
> newer package usually trashed my Haskell install and required a wipe
> and restart.
>
> Nowadays I use https://github.com/fpco/minghc which can actually
> install network, and I've had zero problems. I can get up to the
> platform with one invoke of cabal, and if someone decides to require a
> new network, it just works.
>
> I think the Platform now gives a worse user experience on Windows, so
> the ideas (or names) probably need migrating around.
>
> Thanks, Neil
>
>
> On Sun, Mar 22, 2015 at 8:47 AM, Heinrich Apfelmus
> <apfelmus at quantentunnel.de> wrote:
> > Mark Lentczner wrote:
> >>
> >> I'm wondering how we are all feeling about the platform these days....
> >>
> >> I notice that in the new Haskell pages, the Platform is definitely not
> the
> >> recommended way to go: The main download pages suggests the compiler and
> >> base libraries as the first option - and the text for the Platform
> (second
> >> option) pretty much steers folks away from it. Of the per-OS download
> >> pages, only the Windows version even mentions it.
> >>
> >> Does this mean that we don't want to consider continuing with it? It is
> a
> >> lot of community effort to put out a Platform release - we shouldn't do
> it
> >> if we don't really want it.
> >>
> >> That said, I note that the other ways to "officially get" Haskell look,
> to
> >> my eye, very ad hoc. Many of the options involve multiple steps, and
> >> exactly what one is getting isn't clear. It hardly looks like there is
> now
> >> an "official, correct" way to setup Haskell.
> >>
> >> The Platform arose in an era before sandboxes and before curated library
> >> sets like Stackage and LTS. Last time we set direction was several years
> >> ago. These new features and development have clearly changed the
> landscape
> >> for use to reconsider what to do.
> >>
> >>
> >> I don't think the status quo for the Platform is now viable - mostly as
> >> evidenced by waning interest in maintaining it. I offer several ways we
> >> could proceed:
> >>
> >> *1) Abandon the Platform.* GHC is release in source and binary form.
> Other
> >> package various installers, with more or less things, for various OSes.
> >>
> >> *2) Slim the Platform.* Pare it back to GHC + base + a smaller set of
> >> "essential" libs + tools. Keeps a consistent build layout and
> installation
> >> mechanism for Haskell.
> >>
> >> *3) Re-conceive the Platform.* Take a very minimal install approach,
> >> coupled with close integration with a curated library set that makes it
> >> easy to have a rich canonical, stable environment. This was the core
> idea
> >> around my "GPS Haskell" thoughts from last September - but there would
> be
> >> much to work out in this direction.
> >>
> >> Thoughts?
> >
> >
> > Thanks a lot for your hard work on the platform!
> >
> > I myself am an avid user of the platform (OS X), because for me, it's the
> > easiest way to install Haskell on a new machine; I just did so the other
> > day.
> >
> > The only time when the platform seems to be a handicap is when a new
> version
> > of GHC is being released and I would have to update my packages.
> Usually, I
> > don't test them with the new version and rely on pull requests instead.
> >
> >
> > Best regards,
> > Heinrich Apfelmus
> >
> > --
> > http://apfelmus.nfshost.com
> >
> >
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