Re: GHC status report

Figured I'd make one case for dynamic linking: https://github.com/ekmett/rounded Dynamic linking is finally enabling us to build a version of MPFR bindings for Haskell for scientific/high precision computing with 7.8. I would really hate to lose it after all of these years trying to get it work, as I have a rather large edifice being built atop that platform. We tried and failed due to limitations of the old linker for almost 3 years. That said, -dynamic-too seems to cause me all sorts of problems elsewhere. ^C'ing out of a build and restarting it will often make a .o but lose the .dyn_o, leading to GHC + cabal getting confused and refusing to build until I clean. This hits me several times a day. -Edward On Thu, May 1, 2014 at 3:29 AM, Simon Peyton Jones wrote:

| Dynamic linking has been a huge headache in GHC, and it's not clear that | it's an overall improvement compared with the static linker. Now that | 7.8 is out of the way, it's time to have a conversation about whether we | want to do dynamic linking again for 7.10, or revert to static linking.

I echo this. Dynamic linking has had many un-anticipated costs and it is still very far from sorted out. It originally felt like a Fantastic Idea to give up our own linker and adopt the system linker, but it now feels to me like a black hole, endlessly sucking effort and increasing complexity.

My viewpoint is highly un-informed about details; I just watch the traffic going by. And of course it does have benefits that doubtless generate less traffic.

Simon

| | | | > | > On Tue, Apr 29, 2014 at 6:13 PM, Simon Peyton Jones | > mailto:simonpj@microsoft.com> wrote: | > | > As Austin has told us, there's a draft of the *GHC Status Report | for | > the HCAR*, here:____ | > | > https://ghc.haskell.org/trac/ghc/wiki/Status/May14____ | > | > Have we missed out something you have been working hard on? Do | > take a moment to add a bullet in an appropriate place (it's a | > wiki). I'd like to be sure that we are giving credit to all the | > appropriate people, so please help us fix that too. GHC is a team | > effort.____ | > | > Deadline is 1 May I think.____ | > | > Thanks____ | > | > Simon____ | > | > __ __ | > | > | > _______________________________________________ | > ghc-devs mailing list | > ghc-devs@haskell.org mailto:ghc-devs@haskell.org | > http://www.haskell.org/mailman/listinfo/ghc-devs | > | > | > | > | > _______________________________________________ | > ghc-devs mailing list | > ghc-devs@haskell.org | > http://www.haskell.org/mailman/listinfo/ghc-devs | > _______________________________________________ ghc-devs mailing list ghc-devs@haskell.org http://www.haskell.org/mailman/listinfo/ghc-devs