[Haskell-cafe] Is there any movement/need in new 'base' package and co?

[Евгений Пермяков]

It is clear, that current 'core' Haskell packages bear some weight of 
legacy and back-compatibility, and accumulates garbage/problems over 
time. Some of the garbage can be dropped and some was here for so long, 
that it can't be dropped without major buzz.

For example, we have *Monad* type-class, that is hardwired into Haskell 
syntax. However, it allows arbitrary fail by definition, and not all 
monads should provide this option. Still, it is almost impossible to 
move the method into separate interface, as every *Monad* instance will 
have to be rewritten.

Lack of standard packed text/binary string type is also a problem. It is 
not so problem on itself, as problem of support: different io packages, 
parser tools and so on have to choose what string type to use, which 
lead to fragmentation of library field.

Hierarchy of numeric classes is also often questioned.

More points of problems may be found if one will study Hackage long enough.

So, the questions arise:
- When problems will ruin the language?
- When and which actions are needed to avoid this?
- If major rewrite will be initiated, what problems it should target?
- And how to make the transition easier?

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