[GHC] #10179: Kinds missing from types in ghci
GHC
ghc-devs at haskell.org
Mon Mar 23 13:18:37 UTC 2015
#10179: Kinds missing from types in ghci
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Reporter: br1 | Owner:
Type: bug | Status: new
Priority: normal | Milestone:
Component: GHCi | Version: 7.10.1-rc2
Resolution: | Keywords:
Operating System: Unknown/Multiple | Architecture:
Type of failure: None/Unknown | Unknown/Multiple
Blocked By: | Test Case:
Related Tickets: | Blocking:
| Differential Revisions:
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Comment (by goldfire):
I think the problem here is that GHC/the Haskell community, in general, is
quite ambivalent about kind-polymorphism. My take on it all is that the
power users want it. At the same time, we're afraid that it will scare
people, and so we're a little embarrassed of those `k`s showing up to
unsuspecting folks without deep experience with type theory. So, we hide
the kinds behind `-fprint-explicit-kinds`.
I don't think we'll resolve this tension anytime soon, as it's there for a
good reason: we want both power and comprehensibility. But it's hard to
have both, of course.
So, here's a solution: do (broadly) what Idris does. (I don't have Idris
to hand, so don't take the analogy too literally.) When a type prints out,
suppress kinds. BUT, have some interactive way of requesting more
information, say by clicking on the type. I know this solution will take a
lot of work, but I think that work will be very worthwhile down the road.
See, for example, #10073.
--
Ticket URL: <http://ghc.haskell.org/trac/ghc/ticket/10179#comment:3>
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