#10871: Implement "fat" interface files which can be directly compiled without source -------------------------------------+------------------------------------- Reporter: ezyang | Owner: ezyang Type: feature request | Status: new Priority: normal | Milestone: Component: Compiler | Version: 7.11 Resolution: | Keywords: backpack Operating System: Unknown/Multiple | Architecture: | Unknown/Multiple Type of failure: None/Unknown | Test Case: Blocked By: | Blocking: Related Tickets: | Differential Rev(s): Wiki Page: | -------------------------------------+------------------------------------- Comment (by simonpj):
Let me re-answer your questions: What does it mean to install an indefinite package? We install just the interface files, so that we can typecheck against it
We need more than that. We need to compile the indefinite package to code when we fill its holes. So we need access to its source code in some form. One way to do that is to keep the original Haskell source code (pre-cpp, pre-everything) and typecheck it from scratch, being (a) careful to keep a copy of the source code and (b) ever so careful to replay exactly the front-end compiler flags that were used the first time round. We could do this. But it's just easier to snapshot the Core bindings that we already have in our hand. With unfoldings in interface files we already do this; it's mainly a question of keeping all unfoldings, not just some. It's not an efficiency issue. If it's easier to compile again from source (remembering all the C bits etc) then let's do that. To me it looks harder. And that's the core issue to debate. -- Ticket URL: http://ghc.haskell.org/trac/ghc/ticket/10871#comment:18 GHC http://www.haskell.org/ghc/ The Glasgow Haskell Compiler