GHC Source Build documentation BUG

[Donald Bruce Stewart]

arthurvl:
> Hello, 
> 
> while trying to adapt the local bootstrap-from-scratch script that allows
> us to install a somewhat customized GHC onto our systems starting from
> nothing but an installed GCC 2.95, I noticed a bug in the documentation
> accompanying the GHC 6.2 release. On
> http://www.haskell.org/ghc/download_ghc_62.html there is a note stating
>   The source distribution needs an installed GHC 4.08.X, 5.X or 6.X to build.
> 
> As 4.08.2 is relatively easily bootstrapped using a C compiler, that is
> the base we start off, and thus I figured I could just jump from 4.08.2
> to 6.2. Unfortunately, the compilation itself then states:
>   :94: #error GHC >= 5.00 is required for bootstrapping GHC
> 
> Annoying, that. Especially given that I *checked* if I could jump from
> 4.08.2 to 6.2.
> 
> Doei, Arthur. (One extra stage in the bootstrapping process...)

Hmm. SimonM may have something to say about this.

Since 6.0.1 you can bootstrap directly `quite easily', as long as you
can generate C source, or someone else has done it for you (this is how
the OpenBSD ports tree version of GHC builds).

So rather than bootstrap from 4.08.2 (which won't even build on some
platforms, i.e. sparc/openbsd, netbsd, ia64, mips64), it might be more
profitable to start directly with the version you want, 6.2, and
generate your own C using the instructions in the docs. 

Of course, you need to install a binary of GHC first, but once you've
got the C source, you can wipe GHC, and build using gcc only.

4.08.2 should die now.

-- Don