#9163: Ptr should have a phantom role -------------------------------------+------------------------------------ Reporter: simonpj | Owner: Type: bug | Status: new Priority: normal | Milestone: Component: Compiler | Version: 7.8.2 Resolution: | Keywords: Operating System: Unknown/Multiple | Architecture: Unknown/Multiple Type of failure: None/Unknown | Difficulty: Unknown Test Case: | Blocked By: Blocking: | Related Tickets: -------------------------------------+------------------------------------ Comment (by simonmar): So I've been assuming that `castPtr` was free all this time, and it turns out it isn't! Please make it free. We can't change the type of `hPutBuf` and friends without potentially breaking code. There's no better choice than `Ptr a` here, because we don't know the type of the underlying data. Making it `Ptr Word8` would just force the caller to use `castPtr` sometimes without any benefit. e.g. `Ptr CChar` is also a sensible choice, but it could in reality be anything. It does look like the two `castPtr`s in `bufWrite` are unnecessary, though. -- Ticket URL: http://ghc.haskell.org/trac/ghc/ticket/9163#comment:13 GHC http://www.haskell.org/ghc/ The Glasgow Haskell Compiler