- ghc-steering-committee

Immediate suspension of my participation
by Moritz Angermann 05 Jan '26

05 Jan '26

Dear committee members, I’m sorry to inform you that I’ll be suspending my participation with immediate effect due to health problems. I hope that my health will recover to the point where I can participate again in the future. If suspension is not viable I’ll hereby have to resign. Thank you for your understanding. Best, Moritz

4 4

GHC proposal: specification of static
by Simon Peyton Jones 18 Dec '25

18 Dec '25

Adam I'd like to submit this proposal to the Committee https://github.com/ghc-proposals/ghc-proposals/blob/wip/spj-static/proposal… Thanks Simon

11 20

Welcome to the new members of the GHC Steering Committee
by Simon Marlow 15 Dec '25

15 Dec '25

The GHC Steering Committee recently solicited nominations for new members, and I'm delighted to announce that the following four people will be joining the committee: - Adam Gundry (returning for another term) - Jaro Reinders - Jeff Young - Rodrigo Mesquita Congratulations to our new members and welcome to the GHC Steering Committee! On behalf of the committee, Simon Marlow

4 7

#681: Updates to modifier proposal, recommendation: accept
by Matthías Páll Gissurarson 03 Dec '25

03 Dec '25

Hey all, ChickenProp has been working on implementing the modifiers proposal (#370 <https://github.com/ghc-proposals/ghc-proposals/blob/master/proposals/0370-m…>), and has fixed some mistakes and omissions ( https://github.com/ghc-proposals/ghc-proposals/pull/681) I had some initial concerns and requested clarification, which has now been addressed. My recommendation is that we *accept*. Here's a summary provided by ChickenProp: * ';' is now allowed in between modifiers attached to decls, and required before the decl. So %One %Two ; data F -- previously allowed, still allowed %One %Two data F -- previously allowed , now forbidden %One ; %Two ; data F -- previously forbidden, now allowed %One ; %Two data F -- previously forbidden, still forbidden Initially, I made the one before the decl required for parsing reasons. I couldn't figure out how to have all of: optional pre-decl semicolon; modifiers attached to expressions; expressions can appear at the top level. (I was getting shift/reduce or reduce/reduce conflicts in the parser.) Since there are no longer modifiers attached to expressions, it could be optional again. But in case we want modifiers on expressions in future, we might want to keep our options open. * No modifiers attached to types or expressions. * `-Wunrecognized-modifiers`, not `-Wunknown-modifiers`. Specify that it's enabled by default. * `-XLinearTypes -XNoModifiers` introduces backwards compatible behavior. * Add non-normative discussion of RN versus TC modifiers. * In the linear-types proposal, update the examples of modifiers attached to lambda-bound variables. I think the examples now match the BNF given. Also, the line "the `lpat` must be a bare variable" was contradicted by syntax elsewhere in the proposal, so remove that. -- -- Matthías Páll Gissurarson <http://mpg.is/>

7 10

Nudger
by Simon Marlow 21 Oct '25

21 Oct '25

While perusing the GHC Steering Committee Bylaws <https://github.com/ghc-proposals/ghc-proposals/blob/master/committee.rst> I noticed they mention that one committee member is dedicated the "Nudger". This is a role we introduced back in 2020 as far as I can make out; the nudger at the time was Tom Harding who is no longer a committee member. I don't think we appointed a new nudger when Tom left the committee. We should either 1. Abandon the idea and remove the text about the Nudger from the bylaws, or 2. Appoint a new nudger. I don't feel strongly, but lean towards (1). We tried it, it worked so well that we all forgot about it entirely :) Cheers Simon

2 2

Call for a volunteer to run a new nominations round
by Adam Gundry 15 Oct '25

15 Oct '25

Dear Committee, Arnaud and I are now approaching the end of our current three-year terms on the committee, which means the committee needs to put out a new public call for membership nominations. Our bylaws explain the process in more detail (https://github.com/ghc-proposals/ghc-proposals/blob/ master/committee.rst#term-limits-and-committee-selection). In particular, note that: > Expiring members are free to re-nominate themselves. When the > secretary's term is expiring, another (unexpiring) member of the > committee fills in for the secretary to run this process ... It is > expected that the committee favor newcomers in preference to re- > nominated continuing members. Since my term is expiring, I need to ask for a volunteer to run the nomination process (i.e. receive self-nominations from interested parties, distribute them to the other committee members and tally votes). Please speak up ASAP if you're willing to take this on! Thanks, Adam -- Adam Gundry, Haskell Consultant Well-Typed LLP, https://www.well-typed.com/ Registered in England & Wales, OC335890 27 Old Gloucester Street, London WC1N 3AX, England

2 1

Qualified *
by Erik de Castro Lopo 15 Oct '25

15 Oct '25

Dear Committee, The original Qualified Literals proposal [1] has been split into 3 separate proposals: * Qualfied Strings [2] * Qualified Numerics [3] * Qualified Lists [4] Since this proposal has already been open for so long and had so much discussion, I have recommened that the committee reaches a decision by Oct 7. I had a few minor reservations about Numerics and Lists, mainly about the fact that there are still options on how they would be implemented but have recommended all 3 are accepted. Thanks, Erik [1] https://github.com/ghc-proposals/ghc-proposals/pull/698 [2] https://github.com/ghc-proposals/ghc-proposals/pull/723 [3] https://github.com/ghc-proposals/ghc-proposals/pull/724 [4] https://github.com/ghc-proposals/ghc-proposals/pull/725 -- ---------------------------------------------------------------------- Erik de Castro Lopo http://www.mega-nerd.com/

10 14

Qualified literals
by Simon Peyton Jones 17 Sep '25

17 Sep '25

Dear Simon, Jakob, Malte, Moritz, Matthias As you will know, there has been quite a bit of discussion around the GHC proposal for Qualified Literals. But (unless I have missed your contributions) you have not yet contributed to the discussion. As a member of the GHC Steering Committee, especially when there are tricky judgement calls to make (as in this case) I would really appreciate your input. - Discussion <https://github.com/ghc-proposals/ghc-proposals/pull/698> - Proposal <https://github.com/brandonchinn178/ghc-proposals/blob/qualified-strings/pro…> Brandon has now split his proposal into three. I have outlined options in this comment <https://github.com/ghc-proposals/ghc-proposals/pull/698#issuecomment-326958…> . I feel that we owe the proposer some guidance on the way forward, and we can only do that if we all pay attention, rather than leaving it to Sebastian. (Thanks Sebastian!) thank you! Simon

8 10

The role of the shepherd
by Simon Peyton Jones 10 Sep '25

10 Sep '25

Friends I have realised, rather belatedly, that we don't actually have any written guidance for shepherds of GHC proposals, so we all have to make it up as we go along. Perhaps it'd be helpful to have some. Here's a start. The shepherd does these things: - Makes a recommendation to the committee for whether to accept, reject, or send back for revision, within a week of being appointed. - Actively guide the committee's discussion. - Maintain a list of votes on this spreadsheet <https://docs.google.com/spreadsheets/d/1e6GdwHmAjeDEUhTvP-b18MDkpTfH3SMHhFu…> . - Actively facilitate the committee discussion, guiding us towards a decision, within the published time frame of 4-5 weeks. - Summarise the committee's thinking for the author's benefit, and work with the author on next steps -- this may often take the form of revisions to the proposal. - - Remind members (by name, not just general exhortation) who are silent that they are highly encouraged to contribute. - If the discussion does not converge within 4-5 weeks, take action to consult the chair, vice-chair, or secretary to decide what to do. It's much more than "make a recommendation and wait". Being a member of the GHC Steering Committee is a real service to the community. But of course we all have day jobs, and so not everything happens as we hope. Any thoughts? Simon

2 1

Please review #681: Updates to modifiers proposal
by Adam Gundry 10 Sep '25

10 Sep '25

Dear Committee, Phil Hazelden proposes to amend the Modifiers proposal based on experience with the implementation: https://github.com/ghc-proposals/ghc-proposals/pull/681 I'd like to nominate Matthías as the shepherd. Please guide us to a conclusion as outlined in https://github.com/ghc-proposals/ghc-proposals/blob/master/README.rst#commi…. If possible, please aim to make a recommendation by 23rd September 2025. Cheers, Adam -- Adam Gundry, Haskell Consultant Well-Typed LLP, https://www.well-typed.com/ Registered in England & Wales, OC335890 27 Old Gloucester Street, London WC1N 3AX, England

1 0