In addition to the well-state objections elsewhere in this thread, I
think this proposal is too vague and subjective. So it gets a -1 from
me.
Point #1 needs to specify actual text. I'm -1 on the text Michael
gives later because I disagree with that definition of reproducible
builds.
Point numbers 3 and 4 are too vague, subjective, and would cause
contention in the community. Package authors are already free to to
associate extra meaning with A and B. If you're willing to put in
version bounds after this PVP change, I don't see why you shouldn't be
willing to put them in before it.
On Wed, Apr 9, 2014 at 4:47 AM, Michael Snoyman
I would like to propose the following changes to the PVP. These are the same changes that I recently published on the Yesod blog[1]. For more information on the motivations behind these changes, please see that blog post.
1. The goal of the PVP needs to be clarified. Its purpose is not to ensure reproducible builds of non-published software, but rather to provide for more reliable builds of libraries on Hackage. Reproducible builds should be handled exclusively through version freezing, the only known technique to actually give the necessary guarantees.
2. Upper bounds should not be included on non-upgradeable packages, such as base and template-haskell (are there others?). Alternatively, we should establish some accepted upper bound on these packages, e.g. many people place base < 5 on their code.
3. We should be distinguishing between mostly-stable packages and unstable packages. For a package like text, if you simply import Data.Text (Text, pack, reverse), or some other sane subset, there's no need for upper bounds. (Note that this doesn't provide a hard-and-fast rule like the current PVP, but is rather a matter of discretion. Communication between library authors and users (via documentation or other means) would be vital to making this work well.)
4. For a package version A.B.C, a bump in A or B indicates some level of breaking change. As an opt-in approach, package authors are free to associated meaning to A and B beyond what the PVP requires. Libraries which use these packages are free to rely on the guarantees provided by package authors when placing upper bounds. (Note that this is very related to point (3).)
Discussion period: 3 weeks.
[1] http://www.yesodweb.com/blog/2014/04/proposal-changes-pvp
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