Global variables?

[Fergus Henderson]

On 05-Feb-2003, Simon Peyton-Jones <simonpj@microsoft.com> wrote:
> 
> | Haskell 98 has never supported separate compilation.  That's why we
> | have hi-boot files (or something similar).
> | 
> | So, yes, I'd like to know how the language designers intend to support
> | separate compilation in the next version.
> 
> H98 has nothing to say about the separate compilation; it's an issue for
> the implementation.  GHC does separate compilation for Haskell, and
> always has done.  It requires the programmer to supply an auxiliary
> hi-boot file for one module in each mutually recursive group (and, of
> course, none if there is no recursion between modules).

In other words, GHC doesn't support separate compilation of
Haskell 98 -- it supports separate compilation of a closely related
but distinct language which we can call "Haskell 98 + GHC hi-boot files".

-- 
Fergus Henderson <fjh@cs.mu.oz.au>  |  "I have always known that the pursuit
The University of Melbourne         |  of excellence is a lethal habit"
WWW: <http://www.cs.mu.oz.au/~fjh>  |     -- the last words of T. S. Garp.