[arch-dev-public] [Draft] - News announcement for GHC 7.8.2

[Xyne]

On 2014-04-28 18:55 -0700
Thomas Dziedzic wrote:

>The package haskell-transformers was previously a separate package but is
>now provided with ghc 7.8.2. Since ghc 7.8.2 does not replace
>haskell-transformers 0.3.0.0, the user must run the following command prior
>to upgrading their packages:
>
>pacman -Rcs haskell-transformers

That will likely remove several explicitly installed packages for many users.
You should instruct them to first make a list of these and then re-install them
afterwards.

Incidentally, my pkg-topological_reinstall [1] is useful in this case but I
understand if you are hesitant to appear to endorse it in an official
announcement.


>2) The valid paths that a user can take to install packages are the
>following:
>
> a) Using cabal-install to install haskell packages. This allows the user
>to access every haskell package in hackage. The problem is that you are now
>using packages that are managed outside of pacman. This is usually the best
>option if you are developing any haskell applications due to the new
>sandboxing that cabal-install 1.18 has introduced.
>
> b) Using pacman to install haskell packages. This allows the user to have
>access to a small subset of hackage packages which are known to work on
>archlinux and are usually good enough for non haskell developers.
>
> Note: These 2 paths should be considered mutually exclusive.

I think you should mention Arch Haskell and [haskell-core]. You can stress that
the project is not officially endorsed but it has been maintained reliably for
years now with no signs of disappearing so it should be considered a viable
option as well. It is truly a great resource for Haskell users on Arch.

[1] http://xyne.archlinux.ca/projects/pkg_scripts/#help-message-pkg-topological_reinstall