[GHC] #11072: Runtime linker doesn't search for DLLs referenced in import libraries on Windows

[GHC]

#11072: Runtime linker doesn't search for DLLs referenced in import libraries on
Windows
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        Reporter:  RyanGlScott       |                Owner:  Phyx-
            Type:  bug               |               Status:  new
        Priority:  normal            |            Milestone:  8.0.1
       Component:  Compiler          |              Version:  7.10.2-rc2
  (Linking)                          |
      Resolution:                    |             Keywords:
Operating System:  Windows           |         Architecture:
                                     |  Unknown/Multiple
 Type of failure:  Runtime crash     |            Test Case:
      Blocked By:                    |             Blocking:
 Related Tickets:                    |  Differential Rev(s):
       Wiki Page:                    |
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Comment (by Matt):

 @Phyx-

 I have never before submitted a patch for GHC so i have no idea if i would
 be able to take over this ticket and what would be proper procedure for
 going with it. However i have been working on this for few days here is
 what i got so far.

 After examining many import libraries i found out that in all import
 libraries i got my hands on, DLL name was always stored in first object
 file in import library archive in raw data associated with {{{idata$7}}}
 section.

 Based on that i think this is reliable way to implement this. I put
 together small patch for GHC, however its for GHC-7.10.2 as i have some
 trouble building and running GHC-head on my PC. In spite of that it should
 be trivial to port this to head as it changes only few lines of existing
 code.

 I would love to hear some input on this and whether this seems viable. In
 the meantime if I manage to build and test this with GHC-head I will post
 more update.

 At the moment with this patch when you invoke GHCi, for example as {{{ghci
 -lfoo}}}, it will look for {{{libfoo.dll.a}}} and {{{libfoo.a}}} before
 trying to load libfoo.a as static library.

 If either of those 2 are found it will try to extract DLL name from them
 in that order. If this succeds and assuming DLL name fetched was
 {{{libfoo-1.dll}}}, it will then try to load {{{libfoo-1.dll}}} instead
 trying to load {{{libfoo.a}}} as static archive.

 GHCi will also print some trace info when invoked with {{{-v}}} so that in
 case of trouble it can be traced back from where did DLL name came from.

--
Ticket URL: <http://ghc.haskell.org/trac/ghc/ticket/11072#comment:3>
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