leledumbo wrote:
The reason why I don't like gcc shipped with ghc distribution is that I waste my harddisk space for two same compilers, only differ in version (I use 4.3.2, ghc ships 3.4.2). And because both are in my PATH, it sometimes behaves unexpectedly. For instance, I try to delete the shipped gcc because I think ghc will be able to find mine (hmm...I suggest ghc implements this, especially for people with low harddisk space). But when I try to compile, it complains about not finding gcc. Crazily, upon compiling with -fvia-C it runs MY gcc, not the shipped one (gcc bindir is placed before ghc bindir in my PATH)! This also happens when I try to bootstrap from source. Second reason, if ghc already performs very well using its ncg, I think it's better to improve it rather than relying on gcc's one.
If GHC isn't using its own gcc, that's a bug. We could theoretically ship a cut-down GHC bundle with no gcc, but as others have said it's often useful. For example, hsc2hs needs it, and you'll need a gcc if you write 'foreign export' or 'foreign import "wrapper"' anywhere in your source code. Cheers, Simon