[GHC] #5902: Cannot tell from an exception handler whether the exception was asynchronous

[GHC]

#5902: Cannot tell from an exception handler whether the exception was
asynchronous
-------------------------------------+------------------------------------
        Reporter:  simonmar          |            Owner:  simonmar
            Type:  bug               |           Status:  new
        Priority:  high              |        Milestone:  7.8.1
       Component:  Compiler          |          Version:  7.4.1
      Resolution:                    |         Keywords:
Operating System:  Unknown/Multiple  |     Architecture:  Unknown/Multiple
 Type of failure:  None/Unknown      |       Difficulty:  Unknown
       Test Case:                    |       Blocked By:
        Blocking:                    |  Related Tickets:
-------------------------------------+------------------------------------
Changes (by exbb2):

 * priority:  normal => high


Comment:

 If a type-based solution is implemented, I propose for SomeException to be
 deprecated and split into SomeSyncException and SomeAsyncException.

 Right now, SomeException and lack of discrimination for asynchronous
 exceptions pose serious threat to modularity in concurrent applications.
 Every innocuous catch or try anywhere at any time in any library can make
 a thread unintentionally uncancelable. I had to write patches for three
 different libraries because of this recurring problem; what would happen
 if my project depended on 50 libraries all throwing and catching
 exceptions?

-- 
Ticket URL: <http://ghc.haskell.org/trac/ghc/ticket/5902#comment:18>
GHC <http://www.haskell.org/ghc/>
The Glasgow Haskell Compiler