Richard O'Keefe wrote:
However, the point here is surely that the de-facto default for all other downloaded programs - standard makefile setups, automake, autoconf, perl package, python packages, graphic installers like firefox - is do to what cabal calls a 'global' install by default.
The assumption here seems to be that everyone owns their own machine or has a system adminstrator with large amounts of free time on their hands. Just because a lot of other people are doing something crazy doesn't mean we have to copy them.
No. It's not an assumption, it's a default. No one is assuming anything. Both options are available. The point I was making, which is scarcely important enough to bother explaining again, is that having the same *default* as other software is a virtue. In point of fact, I'm sure that a larger proportion of haskell users have their own machine than don't. Jules