[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 YitzGale):

 Replying to [comment:5 Matt]:
 > If you check existing archive loading mechanics in GHCi it doesn't look
 for `.lib` files either. Those files are usually produces by MSVC compiler
 which its not officially supported by GHC as far as i know.

 I'm not sure what you mean by "not officially supported". Specifying .lib
 files + DLL files has always been the standard way to use FFI for third
 party libraries on Windows.

 > I think preferable way of getting libraries on Windows should be MSYS2
 anyway as it uses the same compiler as GHC and already comes with really
 big collection of packages.

 MSYS2 is very nice, but its "really big collection of packages" is
 insignificant compared to the amount of libraries compiled with MSVC and
 available as lib + DLL. And that's just open source - for proprietary
 libraries that commercial users of GHC need to link against, MSVC is
 basically the only option. Mingw is designed to support those, and it has
 always worked fine in the past.

 MSYS2 is a rock-solid option, when it's available. And we were grateful
 for that for {{{text-icu}}}. But is seems to me that it will always be a
 fallback. The normal way to link to a third-party library on Windows is
 with .lib files and DLLs.

--
Ticket URL: <http://ghc.haskell.org/trac/ghc/ticket/11072#comment:6>
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