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 <simonpj@microsoft.com> 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
| > <simonpj@microsoft.com <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
| >
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