Re: wither the Platform

I'd like the haskell platform to include all of LTS haskell. That includes a very broad set of packages so you don't need to install many other packages even as an advanced user. Maybe there could also be a nightly release which includes stackage instead? It would save a lot of time even for experienced users, since they get stackage precompiled. However, such a distribution should be designed such that cabal install just works, so it should probably be based on winghc on Windows. The only problem I can see with this is the size of such a package, not sure if it would be acceptable? Neil Mitchell schrieb am So., 22. Mär. 2015 10:18:

On Windows, the reason I used to use the Platform was that it came with an installed network library, and installing the network library on Windows is a real pain (and often fails). Unfortunately it was incredibly brittle, a single attempt at upgrading network from some newer package usually trashed my Haskell install and required a wipe and restart.

Nowadays I use https://github.com/fpco/minghc which can actually install network, and I've had zero problems. I can get up to the platform with one invoke of cabal, and if someone decides to require a new network, it just works.

I think the Platform now gives a worse user experience on Windows, so the ideas (or names) probably need migrating around.

Thanks, Neil

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Mark Lentczner wrote:

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I'm wondering how we are all feeling about the platform these days....

I notice that in the new Haskell pages, the Platform is definitely not

On Sun, Mar 22, 2015 at 8:47 AM, Heinrich Apfelmus wrote: the

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recommended way to go: The main download pages suggests the compiler and base libraries as the first option - and the text for the Platform (second option) pretty much steers folks away from it. Of the per-OS download pages, only the Windows version even mentions it.

Does this mean that we don't want to consider continuing with it? It is a lot of community effort to put out a Platform release - we shouldn't do it if we don't really want it.

That said, I note that the other ways to "officially get" Haskell look, to my eye, very ad hoc. Many of the options involve multiple steps, and exactly what one is getting isn't clear. It hardly looks like there is now an "official, correct" way to setup Haskell.

The Platform arose in an era before sandboxes and before curated library sets like Stackage and LTS. Last time we set direction was several years ago. These new features and development have clearly changed the landscape for use to reconsider what to do.

I don't think the status quo for the Platform is now viable - mostly as evidenced by waning interest in maintaining it. I offer several ways we could proceed:

*1) Abandon the Platform.* GHC is release in source and binary form. Other package various installers, with more or less things, for various OSes.

*2) Slim the Platform.* Pare it back to GHC + base + a smaller set of "essential" libs + tools. Keeps a consistent build layout and installation mechanism for Haskell.

*3) Re-conceive the Platform.* Take a very minimal install approach, coupled with close integration with a curated library set that makes it easy to have a rich canonical, stable environment. This was the core idea around my "GPS Haskell" thoughts from last September - but there would be much to work out in this direction.

Thoughts?

Thanks a lot for your hard work on the platform!

I myself am an avid user of the platform (OS X), because for me, it's the easiest way to install Haskell on a new machine; I just did so the other day.

The only time when the platform seems to be a handicap is when a new version of GHC is being released and I would have to update my packages. Usually, I don't test them with the new version and rely on pull requests instead.

Best regards, Heinrich Apfelmus

-- http://apfelmus.nfshost.com

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