On Fri, Apr 29, 2011 at 3:05 PM, Daniil Elovkov <daniil.elov...@gmail.com> wrote: > Hello list > > I have an idea on versioning of Haskell packages and a small question about > release model of Haskell Platform. Since the latter is shorter let's start > with it. > > So, what is the release model of Haskell Platform? Is it released every N > months and frozen at that point? Or some intermediate package/compiler > updates can make the new version to appear out of schedule? > > Now, about package versioning. Haskell packages are flourishing and evolving > at a high speed. Packages depend on other package and they evolve > asynchronously. In result it is easy to end up in need of multiple versions > of the same package in one program or maybe stumble upon other > conflicts/problems. I'm expressing myself a little vaguely because I don't > have a good example in my head right now. > > However, the idea is to maintain not just multi-digit version names that > don't carry any semantics except that 1.1.3 is later than 1.1.2, but also > somehow describe compatibility between versions. > > This way, even if the package A has jumped from 1.0 to 1.5 and the dependent > package B has been stagnant all this time (and B depends on A 1.0), if we > have information that 1.5 is compatible with 1.0, then we can safely use A > 1.5 while building B. Or we could use whatever version of A is found in the > system as long as its compatible with A 1.0 that B depends on.
I think the PVP (Package Versioning Policy) covers a lot of what you're discussing, but I may misunderstand: http://www.haskell.org/haskellwiki/Package_versioning_policy We *do* still have some trouble maintaining / enforcing the PVP in general, and there are a few things that it doesn't cover (I don't believe exception behavior is covered, for example, although I'd argue that throwing more exceptions than a previous version introduces a substantial API change. Anyhow, that's a different rant. ;). Finer granularity would be great -- if it can be done autonomously. I think that raising awareness of the PVP and refining the tools to check for necessary version bumps would be a great step in the right direction. --Rogan _______________________________________________ Haskell-Cafe mailing list Haskell-Cafe@haskell.org http://www.haskell.org/mailman/listinfo/haskell-cafe
