[Haskell-cafe] Package Takeover: `toml`

[amindfv at mailbox.org]

On Fri, Mar 12, 2021 at 06:28:44AM +0000, Emily Pillmore wrote:
> Tom,
> 
> Look, I don't want to debate syntax and semantics here, but "burning need/desire/ambition" etc ( https://idioms.thefreedictionary.com/burning+desire ) is an extremely common colloquialism that doesn't imply an emergency, just a strongly felt urge.  I can't apologize for my wording, but I'm sorry for the situation nonetheless.

I also don't want to debate semantics but I can tell you "I have a burning need" on a Hackage takeover has a different connotation of urgency than "I have a burning desire to write a toml parsing library and to have it be named 'toml'". I still feel duped and now condescended to as well. I do nonetheless appreciate your apology for the situation.

> > 
> > It's now seeming more just like a desire for the package name.
> > 
> > 
> 
> I'm going to look at `toml-parser` in the meantime, but no toml library does what I have in mind (namely a full fledged implementation of the spec, streaming, deriving etc.), nor do many of them provide bidirectional serialization save `tomland`. To reiterate Carter's point, hackage names are a community resource, and they deserve to be thought through carefully, so yes, the package name is part of the request. I do alot of community service to make sure things that take up precious Hackage real-estate are treated well, which is why `toml` posed an opportunity.

I'm actually open to the idea of using a simple name like "toml" for a best-in-class Haskell library, but I'd want to see proof that it is clearly the best in terms of implementation and adoption. I of course think my plans for toml parsing are the most wonderful, but if a consensus favorite package emerges and it's not mine I will step aside.

> 
> To that point, anything you put out is something I am interested in investing time and effort into making a standard. Do you have any code currently, or is this a TODO on your list? Going through your hackage libraries, I see no source repository listings, issue trackers, or even an email to reach you by.

I do have code, yes. As mentioned earlier I'm in the middle of a rewrite. If there's more to discuss maybe we should move this conversation off-list as it's no longer about a package takeover?

Tom