From: Andrew J Bromage [mailto:ajb@spamcop.net] Sent: 30 August 2002 02:33
Perhaps we should try and merge these, is there any point in having multiple projects and repositories when we have hierarchical libraries?
Semi-random half-baked thoughts follow.
The major problem with Haskell libraries at the moment, and one of the reasons why I started HFL, is that there are a lot of existing libraries "out there" which have nothing in common. Naming schemes are inconsistent, error/exception handling is inconsistent, iterator support is handled in a dozen different ways and so on.
Agreed that there are lots of inconsistent libraries out there, but why start a new project when there's already libraries@haskell.org? Surely this is the right point of focus for developing new libraries, and we also have a CVS repository for the code: fptools/libraries on cvs.haskell.org. We also have the beginnings of guidelines for naming conventions and coding style. Perhaps it's because it appears that the barrier to getting one's code into fptools/libraries is quite high. Really, it's not that hard - the only reasons I would actively argue against something going into fptools/libraries are: if there is duplication of functionality between libraries that will only serve to confuse users, or if there is substantial disagreement about whether a particular API is the "right thing". I see the process of standardisation as separate; at some point after the libraries have matured in fptools/libraries for some time, we will standardise some of them in a Haskell 98 addendum. This will probably be an ongoing process, with more libraries becoming standardised as they mature.
I'd also like, eventually, to institute some proper unit testing, code auditing and peer review, particularly on anything we're proposing for standardisation, but this can be discussed later.
Absolutely. Feel free to write down your ideas and we'll integrate them into the library project documentation, such as it is: fptools/libraries/docs/libraries.sgml, there's an online version here: http://www.haskell.org/~simonmar/libraries/libraries.html Cheers, Simon