What were the objections? Especially the principle ones? On Tue, Feb 10, 2015 at 4:50 PM, Simon Peyton Jones <simo...@microsoft.com> wrote:
> Haskell Friends > > *This email asks for your help in deciding how to proceed with some > Prelude changes in GHC 7.10. Please read on, but all the info is also at > the survey link, here: http://goo.gl/forms/XP1W2JdfpX > <http://goo.gl/forms/XP1W2JdfpX>. Deadline is 21 Feb.* > > > > The Core Libraries Committee (CLC) is responsible for developing the core > libraries that ship with GHC. This is an important but painstaking task, > and we owe the CLC a big vote of thanks for taking it on. > > For over a year the CLC has been working on integrating the *Foldable and > Traversable classes* (shipped in base in GHC 7.8) into the core > libraries, and into the Prelude in particular. Detailed planning for GHC > 7.10 started in the autumn of 2014, and the CLC went ahead with this > integration. > > Then we had a failure of communication. As these changes affect the > Prelude, which is in scope for all users of Haskell, these changes should > be held to a higher bar than the regular libraries@ review process. > However, the Foldable/Traversable changes were not particularly well > signposted. Many people have only recently woken up to them, and some have > objected (both in principle and detail). > > This is an extremely unfortunate situation. On the one hand we are at RC2 > for GHC 7.10, so library authors have invested effort in updating their > libraries to the new Prelude. On the other, altering the Prelude is in > effect altering the language, something we take pretty seriously. We should > have had this debate back in 2014, but here we are, and it is unproductive > to argue about whose fault it is. We all share responsibility. > > We need to decide what to do now. A small group of us met by Skype and > we've decided to do this: > > · Push back GHC 7.10's release by at least a month, to late > March. This delay also gives us breathing space to address an unrelated > show-stopping bug, Trac #9858. > > · Invite input from the Haskell community on which of two > approaches to adopt (this survey <http://goo.gl/forms/XP1W2JdfpX>). The > main questions revolve around impact on the Haskell ecosystem (commercial > applications, teaching, libraries, etc etc), so we want to ask your opinion > rather than guess it. > > · Ask Simon Marlow and Simon Peyton Jones to decide which > approach to follow for GHC 7.10. > > Wiki pages have been created summarizing these two primary alternatives, > including many more points and counter-points and technical details: > > · Overall summary: > https://ghc.haskell.org/trac/ghc/wiki/Prelude710 > <https://www.google.com/url?q=https%3A%2F%2Fghc.haskell.org%2Ftrac%2Fghc%2Fwiki%2FPrelude710&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNE1p5w-YCXC7ixebvwObayuV7Ut4w> > > · Details of Plan List: > https://ghc.haskell.org/trac/ghc/wiki/Prelude710/List > <https://www.google.com/url?q=https%3A%2F%2Fghc.haskell.org%2Ftrac%2Fghc%2Fwiki%2FPrelude710%2FList&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHaufeSwtIsvZwdVXwP9F9G45zLSA> > > · Details of Plan FTP: > https://ghc.haskell.org/trac/ghc/wiki/Prelude710/FTP > <https://www.google.com/url?q=https%3A%2F%2Fghc.haskell.org%2Ftrac%2Fghc%2Fwiki%2FPrelude710%2FFTP&sa=D&sntz=1&usg=AFQjCNHbhNyIwAbcOd3JfikIhD6S7rc-vw> > > This survey invites your input on which plan we should follow. Would you > please > > · Read the details of the alternative plans on the three wiki > pages above > > · Add your response to the survey <http://goo.gl/forms/XP1W2JdfpX> > > Please do read the background. Well-informed responses will help. Thank > you! > > *DEADLINE: 21 February 2015* > > Simon PJ > > _______________________________________________ > Glasgow-haskell-users mailing list > Glasgow-haskell-users@haskell.org > http://www.haskell.org/mailman/listinfo/glasgow-haskell-users > >
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