packaging options for Mac OS X

[Ian Lynagh]

On Mon, Nov 29, 2010 at 01:29:10PM +1100, Manuel M T Chakravarty wrote:
> Ian Lynagh:
> > On Sun, Nov 28, 2010 at 12:56:00PM -0800, Mark Lentczner wrote:
> >> 
> >> Outstanding question is what should this framework be called? I would like to continue to call it GHC.framework, but change the version to something like 7.0.1+HP-i386,
> > 
> > I think it ought to be called Haskell-Platform.framework.
> 
> The GHC.framework inside the Haskell Platform should still be the GHC.framework.  The rest of the Haskell Platform might be in a different framework (or further, more specific frameworks identifying the individual components inside).  A Mac OS X framework is *not* a unit of distribution.  It is more like a library with associated meta data and tools.  You wouldn't rename glibc to, say, ubuntulibc just because you happen to get it via an Ubuntu install.

Oh, if the framework just contains GHC then GHC.framework makes sense.

> >> [*] The binary GHC distribution could be
> >> 	- built by the GHC team, and asking them for a tarball (as Duncan suggested)
> > 
> > I do "make framework-pkg" to build the OS X installer, but it's
> > essentially a black box to me. We're happy to accept patches that make
> > this also produce a bindist, though.
> > 
> > Now that we have the Haskell Platform, perhaps we should stop making GHC
> > OS X installers, and only make plain old unix bindists.
> 
> Especially given that the Haskell Platform is released many months after GHC, please keep making GHC OS X installers.  At the very least, that will lead to more GHC installs and *testing* on OS X between the GHC release and Haskell Platform release.

For previous GHC releases, some OS X users have been not testing GHC RCs
as that would mean uninstalling their current GHC (which they know
works, and has a load of packages installed). That's semi-fixed now
(there are still some issues, e.g. you can't install an earlier version
than you already have installed - although I don't know how "earlier" is
determined), but even so a bindist installed under ~ may feel safer to
people who don't want their system GHC affected.


Thanks
Ian