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diff --git a/ANNOUNCE-2.01 b/ANNOUNCE-2.01 new file mode 100644 index 0000000000..0fc4ab0f1b --- /dev/null +++ b/ANNOUNCE-2.01 @@ -0,0 +1,165 @@ + The Glasgow Haskell Compiler -- version 2.01 + ~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~ + +We are proud to announce the first public release of the Glasgow +Haskell Compiler (GHC) for the revised Haskell 1.3 language. Sources +and binaries are freely available by anonymous FTP and on the +World-Wide Web; details below. + +GHC 2.01 is a test-quality release, worth trying if you are a gung-ho +Haskell user or if you want to ensure that we quickly fix bugs that +affect your programs :-) We advise *AGAINST* deleting your copy of +that old workhorse GHC 0.26 (for Haskell 1.2), and *AGAINST* relying +on this compiler (2.01) in any way. With your help in testing 2.01, +we hope to release a more solid Haskell 1.3 compiler relatively soon. + +Haskell is "the" standard lazy functional programming language [see +SIGPLAN Notices, May 1992]. The current language version is 1.3, +agreed in May, 1996. + +The Glasgow Haskell project seeks to bring the power and elegance of +functional programming to bear on real-world problems. To that end, +GHC lets you call C (including cross-system garbage collection), +provides good profiling tools, supports ever richer I/O, and +concurrency and parallelism. Our goal is to make it the "tool of +choice for real-world applications". + +GHC 2.01 is quite different from 0.26 (July 1995), as the new version +number suggests. (The 1.xx numbers are reserved for any Haskell-1.2 +compiler releases.) Changes worth noting include: + +....... + + * Concurrent Haskell: with this, you can build programs out of many + I/O-performing, interacting `threads'. We have a draft paper + about Concurrent Haskell, and our forthcoming Haggis GUI toolkit + uses it. + + * Parallel Haskell, running on top of PVM (Parallel Virtual Machine) + and hence portable to pretty much any parallel architecture, + whether shared memory or distributed memory. With this, your + Haskell program runs on multiple processors, guided by `par` and + `seq` annotations. The first pretty-much-everyone-can-try-it + parallel functional programming system! NB: The parallel stuff is + "research-tool quality"... consider this an alpha release. + + * "Foldr/build" deforestation (by Andy Gill) is in, as are + "SPECIALIZE instance" pragmas (by Patrick Sansom). + + * The LibPosix library provides an even richer I/O interface than + the standard 1.3 I/O library. A program like a shell or an FTP + client can be written in Haskell -- examples included. + + * Yet more cool libraries: Readline (GNU command-line editing), + Socket (BSD sockets), Regex and MatchPS (GNU regular expressions). + By Darren Moffat and Sigbjorn Finne. + + * New ports -- Linux (a.out) and MIPS (Silicon Graphics). + + * NB: configuration has changed yet again -- for the better, of + course :-) + +Please see the release notes for a complete discussion of What's New. + +To run this release, you need a machine with 16+MB memory, GNU C +(`gcc'), and `perl'. We have seen GHC 0.26 work on these platforms: +alpha-dec-osf2, hppa1.1-hp-hpux9, i386-unknown-linuxaout, +m68k-sun-sunos4, mips-sgi-irix5, and sparc-sun-{sunos4,solaris2}. +Similar platforms should work with minimal hacking effort. +The installer's guide give a full what-ports-work report. + +Binaries are now distributed in `bundles', e.g. a "profiling bundle" +or a "concurrency bundle" for your platform. Just grab the ones you +need. + +Once you have the distribution, please follow the pointers in +ghc/README to find all of the documentation about this release. NB: +preserve modification times when un-tarring the files (no `m' option +for tar, please)! + +We run mailing lists for GHC users and bug reports; to subscribe, send +mail to glasgow-haskell-{users,bugs}-request@dcs.glasgow.ac.uk. +Please send bug reports to glasgow-haskell-bugs. + +Particular thanks to: Jim Mattson (author of much of the code) who has +now moved to HP in California; and the Turing Institute who donated a +lot of SGI cycles for the SGI port. + +Simon Peyton Jones and Will Partain + +Dated: 95/07/24 + +Relevant URLs on the World-Wide Web: + +GHC home page http://www.dcs.glasgow.ac.uk/fp/software/ghc.html +Glasgow FP group page http://www.dcs.glasgow.ac.uk/fp/ +comp.lang.functional FAQ http://www.cs.nott.ac.uk/Department/Staff/mpj/faq.html + +====================================================================== +How to get GHC 0.26: + +This release is available by anonymous FTP from the main Haskell +archive sites, in the directory pub/haskell/glasgow: + + ftp.dcs.glasgow.ac.uk (130.209.240.50) + ftp.cs.chalmers.se (129.16.227.140) + haskell.cs.yale.edu (128.36.11.43) + +The Glasgow site is mirrored by src.doc.ic.ac.uk (146.169.43.1), in +computing/programming/languages/haskell/glasgow. + +These are the available files (.gz files are gzipped) -- some are `on +demand', ask if you don't see them: + +ghc-0.26-src.tar.gz The source distribution; about 3MB. + +ghc-0.26.ANNOUNCE This file. + +ghc-0.26.{README,RELEASE-NOTES} From the distribution; for those who + want to peek before FTPing... + +ghc-0.26-ps-docs.tar.gz Main GHC documents in PostScript format; in + case your TeX setup doesn't agree with our + DVI files... + +ghc-0.26-<platform>.tar.gz Basic binary distribution for a particular + <platform>. Unpack and go: you can compile + and run Haskell programs with nothing but one + of these files. NB: does *not* include + profiling (see below). + + <platform> ==> alpha-dec-osf2 + hppa1.1-hp-hpux9 + i386-unknown-linuxaout + i386-unknown-solaris2 + m68k-sun-sunos4 + mips-sgi-irix5 + sparc-sun-sunos4 + sparc-sun-solaris2 + +ghc-0.26-<bundle>-<platform>.tar.gz + + <platform> ==> as above + <bundle> ==> prof (profiling) + conc (concurrent Haskell) + par (parallel) + gran (GranSim parallel simulator) + ticky (`ticky-ticky' counts -- for implementors) + prof-conc (profiling for "conc[urrent]") + prof-ticky (ticky for "conc[urrent]") + +ghc-0.26-hc-files.tar.gz Basic set of intermediate C (.hc) files for the + compiler proper, the prelude, and `Hello, + world'. Used for bootstrapping the system. + About 4MB. + +ghc-0.26-<bundle>-hc-files.tar.gz Further sets of .hc files, for + building other "bundles", e.g., profiling. + +ghc-0.26-hi-files-<blah>.tar.gz Sometimes it's more convenient to + use a different set of interface files than + the ones in *-src.tar.gz. (The installation + guide will advise you of this.) + +We could provide diffs from previous versions of GHC, should you +require them. A full set would be very large (7MB). |