Top-level bindings for unlifted types

[Simon Marlow]

pepe wrote:
> So what's the verdict w.r.t. unlifted things bound by the debugger?
> Right now it's quite easy, for example:
> 
>> Prelude> :m +Data.IORef
>> Prelude Data.IORef> p <- newIORef False
>> Prelude Data.IORef> :p p
>> p = GHC.IOBase.IORef (GHC.STRef.STRef (_t1::GHC.Prim.MutVar# 
>> GHC.Prim.RealWorld Bool))
>> Prelude Data.IORef> :t _t1
>> _t1 :: GHC.Prim.MutVar# GHC.Prim.RealWorld Bool
>>
> 
> Should we actively prevent this ?

My guess is "probably", but I can't off-hand think of where the assumption 
that bindings are lifted is wired in.  It's certainly safer to disallow them.

Cheers,
	Simon

> 
> 
> On 13/11/2007, at 13:08, Simon Marlow wrote:
> 
>> Neil Mitchell wrote:
>>
>>> The following program:
>>> -------------------------------------------
>>> {-# OPTIONS_GHC -fglasgow-exts #-}
>>> module Test() where
>>> import GHC.Base
>>> test = realWorld#
>>> -----------------------------------------
>>> gives the error message:
>>>    Top-level bindings for unlifted types aren't allowed:
>>>        { test = realWorld# }
>>> Changing to test _ = realWorld# works fine.
>>> The question is why are these bindings disallowed? Reading the
>>> "Unboxed values as first class citizens" paper I can't see it listed
>>> as a restriction.
>>
>> Let's consider unboxed values first.  They would have to be computed 
>> at compile-time, and that means the value of every top-level unlifted 
>> value needs to be visible in the interface file, for use in other 
>> modules. Cycles are disallowed, of course.  Top-level unboxed values 
>> would then behave just like #define constants, in fact.  This is 
>> certainly possible, it would just add complexity to the compiler in 
>> various places.
>>
>> Alternatively you could compute them at load-time, but then you'd not 
>> only have to arrange to run the initialisers somehow, but also worry 
>> about ordering and cycles.  And then there's the issue that a 
>> top-level unboxed value would be represented by a pointer to the value 
>> rather than the value itself, as is the case with normal unboxed 
>> bindings.  This doesn't sound like a profitable direction.
>>
>> Top-level unlifted/boxed values would be useful, for example
>>
>>  x = case newMutVar# 0 realWorld# of (# s#, x# #) -> x#
>>
>> eliminating a layer of indirection compared to the usual 
>> unsafePerformIO.newIORef.  These would also have to be computed at 
>> either compile-time or load-time, but there's no difficulty with the 
>> representation, because unlifted/boxed values are always represented 
>> by pointers anyway.  This is related to static arrays, which we don't 
>> have in GHC right now.  Conclusion: doable, but non-trivial.
>>
>> realWorld# is a special case, but really falls into the unboxed category.
>>
>> Cheers,
>>     Simon
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> 
>