[ghc-steering-committee] RecordDotSyntax: please express a view

[Christopher Allen]

This proposal should be rejected.

The contention over what whitespace around the dot operator should
make it clear that even expert Haskellers aren't sure what to expect
from this proposal in an intuitive way. We should wait until there's a
more compelling benefit that would justify forking the syntax this
dramatically. The proposal feels over-determined by present trends in
lens libraries, but that's not something I have the energy to
prosecute very far. I could imagine a less contentious way forward is
possible but I think it's unlikely with the technical particulars at
hand. I don't believe the enhanced type inference brought by
RecordDotSyntax merits its inclusion given how it complicates the
syntax and compatibility story. You can achieve the same with
libraries now. That the existing extensions aren't as useful as they
ought as compared with using a lens library is symptomatic of
half-baked proposals being incorporated into GHC.

We can wait until the juice is worth the squeeze and avoid an unforced
error here.

On Mon, Dec 9, 2019 at 4:58 PM Simon Peyton Jones via
ghc-steering-committee <ghc-steering-committee at haskell.org> wrote:
>
> Dear steering committee
>
> I'm the shepherd for the RecordDotSyntax proposal.
>   https://github.com/ghc-proposals/ghc-proposals/pull/282
>
> I recommend acceptance:
> https://github.com/ghc-proposals/ghc-proposals/pull/282#issuecomment-563477691
>
> Please reads the proposal, and as much of the discussion as you feel able, and respond in the next week or two to indicate your views.
>
> Remember: ask technical questions on the Github discussion thread, and use this mailing list for more evaluative discussion of judgement or opinion.
>
> I'd love every member of the committee to express a view.  This proposal has attracted a lot of interest.
>
> Thanks
>
> Simon
>
> | -----Original Message-----
> | From: ghc-steering-committee <ghc-steering-committee-bounces at haskell.org>
> | On Behalf Of Joachim Breitner
> | Sent: 28 November 2019 10:11
> | To: ghc-steering-committee at haskell.org
> | Subject: [EXTERNAL] [ghc-steering-committee] Please review #282:
> | RecordDotSyntax, Shepherd: Simon PJ
> |
> | Dear Committee,
> |
> | this is your secretary speaking:
> |
> | RecordDotSyntax language extension proposal has been proposed by Neil
> | Mitchell and Shayne Fletcher
> | https://github.com/ghc-proposals/ghc-proposals/pull/282
> | https://github.com/shayne-fletcher-da/ghc-proposals/blob/record-dot-
> | syntax/proposals/0000-record-dot-syntax.md
> |
> | This is going to be a tricky one. It is partly about whitespace, so it
> | has attracted a _lot_ of community interest, by far the most so far. To
> | navigate that ship, I propose Simon PJ as the shepherd, because he is a
> | excellent moderator and community manager, and because he has the
> | necessary authority to hopefully get a verdict accepted.
> |
> | Please reach consensus as described in
> | https://github.com/ghc-proposals/ghc-proposals#committee-process
> | I suggest you make a recommendation, in a new e-mail thread with the
> | proposal number in the subject, about the decision, maybe point out
> | debatable points, and assume that anyone who stays quiet agrees with you.
> |
> | Thanks,
> | Joachim
> | --
> | Joachim Breitner
> |   mail at joachim-breitner.de
> |   http://www.joachim-breitner.de/
> |
> | _______________________________________________
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-- 
Chris Allen
Currently working on http://haskellbook.com