#10599: Template Haskell doesn't allow `newName "type"` -------------------------------------+------------------------------------- Reporter: meteficha | Owner: goldfire Type: bug | Status: new Priority: high | Milestone: 7.12.1 Component: Template Haskell | Version: 7.10.2-rc2 Resolution: | Keywords: Operating System: Unknown/Multiple | Architecture: Type of failure: None/Unknown | Unknown/Multiple Blocked By: | Test Case: Related Tickets: | Blocking: | Differential Revisions: -------------------------------------+------------------------------------- Changes (by goldfire): * owner: => goldfire * milestone: => 7.12.1 Comment: Interesting. Part of the confusion here is that names generated by `newName` are different from other names you can use in Haskell. So when you say `newName "type"`, the variable's name really is `type`, but because it comes from `newName`, GHC prints it specially, as it's '''different''' from any other variable named `type`. So what you're trying to do -- create a variable named `type` -- is objectionable. It's just that the pretty-printer makes it look more sensible. On the other hand, there is no reason at all for TH to be picky about `newName` names. GHC got pickier about TH names between 7.8 and 7.10 because 7.8 allowed non-`newName` names that aren't allowed in Haskell, making variables that can't be referred to outside of TH. However, with `newName`, the whole point is that you can't refer to them outside of TH. So I think an improvement would be just to let `newName` be very liberal in what it accepts. As I'm inclined to say that GHC is doing the Right Thing here (that is, rejecting a variable named `type`), it seems most sensible to wait until 7.12 to fix. But if this is ruining your day, speak up. I don't feel very strongly on this point, at all. -- Ticket URL: http://ghc.haskell.org/trac/ghc/ticket/10599#comment:3 GHC http://www.haskell.org/ghc/ The Glasgow Haskell Compiler