Re: Create branch for Haskell build changes and updates?

[John Kehayias]

‐‐‐‐‐‐‐ Original Message ‐‐‐‐‐‐‐

On Wednesday, July 7th, 2021 at 1:47 AM, Xinglu Chen wrote:

> On Mon, Jul 05 2021, John Kehayias wrote:
>
> > Hello,
> >
> > There have been several recent bug reports and patches (list below)
> >
> > that could be addressed with some changes to haskell-build-system, the
> >
> > Hackage importer, and some package updates. Given the number of
> >
> > packages affected, it was discussed on #guix that it would be good to
> >
> > have a branch for these changes and to have Cuirass build the Haskell
> >
> > packages to look for breakage.
> >
> > How do we feel about this? I'm happy to help with some patches I've
> >
> > submitted and update some packages, though it would also be good to
> >
> > have someone experienced with Haskell packaging and/or Guix too. (I'm
> >
> > new to both, but I've had success with my patches at least, locally.)
> >
> > Here is a (partial) list of the most recent bugs and patches that
> >
> > would belong on this branch:
> >
> > -   https://issues.guix.gnu.org/48944 (build failure for new package,
> >
> >     addressed by next patch)
> >
> > -   https://issues.guix.gnu.org/49199 (patch to add package-db to
> >
> >     runhaskell to help with non-trivial configure stage; worked around in
> >
> >     existing packages with a TODO marked to make this change actually)
> >
> > -   https://issues.guix.gnu.org/49418 (metadata revisions not imported,
> >
> >     so e.g. dependency requirements out of date)
> >
> > -   https://issues.guix.gnu.org/49326 (bug with specifying ghc version
> >
> >     for building)
> >
> > -   https://issues.guix.gnu.org/49320 (importer doesn't support some
> >
> >     stages)
> >
> > -   https://issues.guix.gnu.org/48999 (local source for Haskell
> >
> >     packages)
> >
> >
> > I'm not sure what we would want to include or not in such a branch,
> >
> > but I think it would make sense to put together the build-system and
> >
> > related changes at least. Some package updates (like a ghc version)
> >
> > would also affect a lot of packages, so might be good to do that
> >
> > together as well.
>
> Thank you for bringing this up! I posted a WIP patch for adding GHC
>
> 8.10 a while ago, but nobody showed any interest[1].
>
> I don’t have any experience with updating the Haskell toolchain in Guix,
>
> but I think it would be great to have a separate branch for updating the
>
> haskell-build-system and Haskell packages. :)
>
> [1]: https://yhetil.org/guix-devel/87o8cgfbg1.fsf@yoctocell.xyz/

I'm no expert in Haskell packages (every time I dive in anywhere it always 
seems a bit of a mess), but I'm happy to help out. Given the number of 
interdependent packages, probably makes sense to do this anytime needing to 
update a core package, GHC, etc.

Does any maintainer or someone with repository access want to set this up? 
Perhaps someone that has already handled Haskell updates?

We have several patches we can push right away and see how the updates go in 
the CI. Given the scope, I think it is difficult to do without a CI, though 
I've recompiled many a package with the patches I've submitted. I can help take 
charge (or do whatever) once a branch is set up, just let me know.