[Haskell-community] Request for comment: New haskell.org download page

[Jason Dagit]

On Thu, Sep 24, 2015 at 10:54 AM, Richard Eisenberg <eir at cis.upenn.edu>
wrote:

>
> On Sep 24, 2015, at 1:38 PM, Bryan Richter <b at chreekat.net> wrote:
> >  Since I don't know anyone who likes or uses
> > the HP, I think hearing their perspective would be valuable.
>
> At the threat of being booed out of the community, I'll stand up and say I
> like the HP. Of course it should improve -- and I like the direction it's
> going -- but I've used it as it is and would do so again.
>
> I think the observation that the HP promotes a ghc-centric view is why I
> like it. When working with a new language, I really do just want to think
> about the compiler. Only when I get around to trying to actually produce
> software do I care about a build tool. Starting with stack or cabal,
> instead of with ghc, means a much bigger cognitive load right away. Not
> only to you have Haskell files, but you also have .cabal files, and perhaps
> stack.yaml files. You have to think about directory structure -- both
> `cabal` and `stack` behave differently when they're run in or under a
> directory with project files than elsewhere.
>
> But, when I'm starting out, and when my students are starting out, I just
> want to think about the language. Compilers have, at their core, a simple
> interface: program text in, program binary out. Simple! It may be totally
> insufficient for producing portable libraries and distributable software,
> but I'm not tackling those issues on my first day. The fact that the HP
> means I can install something and right away tinker in GHCi and explore
> some common libraries is great.
>
> I'm not trying to derail the conversation. Or even to urge strongly that
> HP remain on the downloads page. I've not followed the thread closely
> enough to be able to make such a stand. But while scrolling through, I saw
> Bryan's request, and I thought I'd answer it.
>
> Happy booing! :)
>
> Richard
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