Colin Paul Adams
Achim> uh... because you're a mere user and don't have the rights Achim> to do so?
No, I own the machine.
Well, but it neither knows nor cares, unless you log in as root. "colin" isn't allowed to write to /usr/local/lib/ghc-6.11.20090319/ . root's and colin's home directories are distinct, as well, that's why both need to do cabal update to install stuff: Users can't read root (or any other user's) home directories; root could read colin's home directory, but musn't trust any data in it, as colin could use that trust to weasel root access.
I can't. It doesn't provide up-to-date ghc and things.
<insert snappy switch-to-gentoo comment here>
Achim> programs with your user account, inside your home Achim> directory, is perfectly acceptable (and traditional) under Achim> unix.
But it means I have to install everyhting twice - once as --user, once as --global.
No, you don't, the database ghc uses to compile stuff is a union of both databases, user installs overriding global installs. Assuming that you're the machine's only user, you only ever need to install stuff as that user: ksf@solaris ~ % ghc-pkg list /usr/lib64/ghc-6.10.1/./package.conf: Cabal-1.6.0.1, HTTP-3001.1.4, QuickCheck-1.2.0.0, QuickCheck-2.1.0.1, X11-1.4.4, X11-xft-0.3, array-0.2.0.0, base-3.0.3.0, base-4.0.0.0, binary-0.4.4, bytestring-0.9.1.4, cairo-0.10.0, containers-0.2.0.0, directory-1.0.0.2, editline-0.2.1.0, filepath-1.1.0.0, filepath-1.1.0.1, gconf-0.10.0, (ghc-6.10.1), ghc-paths-0.1.0.5, ghc-prim-0.1.0.0, glade-0.10.0, glib-0.10.0, gtk-0.10.0, gtkglext-0.10.0, gtksourceview2-0.10.0, haddock-2.4.1, haskell-src-1.0.1.3, haskell98-1.0.1.0, hpc-0.5.0.2, html-1.0.1.2, integer-0.1.0.0, mozembed-0.10.0, mtl-1.1.0.2, network-2.2.0.1, old-locale-1.0.0.1, old-time-1.0.0.1, packedstring-0.1.0.1, parsec-3.0.0, pretty-1.0.1.0, process-1.0.1.0, random-1.0.0.1, readline-1.0.1.0, regex-base-0.93.1, regex-compat-0.92, regex-posix-0.93.2, rts-1.0, soegtk-0.10.0, stm-2.1.1.2, svgcairo-0.10.0, syb-0.1.0.0, template-haskell-2.3.0.0, unix-2.3.1.0, utf8-string-0.3.3, zlib-0.5.0.0 /home/ksf/.ghc/x86_64-linux-6.10.1/package.conf: MemoTrie-0.4.3, bytestring-mmap-0.2.0, bytestring-trie-0.1.4, extensible-exceptions-0.1.1.0, ipprint-0.3, iteratee-0.1.1, mmap-0.2, regex-posix-0.72.0.3 I basically did emerge cabal-install to bootstrap my installation, then emerge gtk2hs as it's not available via hackage. Then, I install what I need to hack as user using cabal install. (I recently nuked my ~/.cabal and ~/.ghc, that's why the user database is that small). Installing ghc as user works equally well. -- (c) this sig last receiving data processing entity. Inspect headers for copyright history. All rights reserved. Copying, hiring, renting, performance and/or quoting of this signature prohibited.