[Haskell-cafe] GHC predictability

[Darrin Thompson]

On Tue, May 13, 2008 at 2:20 AM, Don Stewart <dons at galois.com> wrote:
>  Note the use of strict pairs. Key to ensuring  the accumulators end up in
>  registers.    The performance difference here is due to fold (and all left
>  folds) not fusing in normal build/foldr fusion.
>
>  The vector version runs about the same speed as unoptimsed C.
>

These "tricks" going into Real World Haskell? When you say someone
needs to get familiar with the "STG paper" it scares me (a beginner)
off a little, an I've been making an effort to approach the papers. I
could barely understand the Fusion one and getting familiar with
compiler internals sounds like something I'd not be ready for.
Probably if I really looked at ghc-core I'd be pleasantly surprised
but I'm totally biased against even looking. Gcc is hard to read, thus
ghc is also. So while you are right about all this when you say it, I
think your goal is to persuade. RWH has some of the best practical
prose I've read yet. Well done there. Hopefully chapter 26 will be
crammed full of this stuff?

--
Darrin