path: root/docs/users_guide/separate_compilation.rst

.. _separate-compilation:

Filenames and separate compilation
==================================

.. index::
   single: separate compilation
   single: recompilation checker
   single: make and recompilation

This section describes what files GHC expects to find, what files it
creates, where these files are stored, and what options affect this
behaviour.

Note that this section is written with hierarchical modules in mind (see
:ref:`hierarchical-modules`); hierarchical modules are an extension to
Haskell 98 which extends the lexical syntax of module names to include a
dot ``.``. Non-hierarchical modules are thus a special case in which none
of the module names contain dots.

Pathname conventions vary from system to system. In particular, the
directory separator is "``/``" on Unix systems and "``\``" on
Windows systems. In the sections that follow, we shall consistently use
"``/``" as the directory separator; substitute this for the
appropriate character for your system.

.. _source-files:

Haskell source files
--------------------

.. index::
   single: file names; of source files

Each Haskell source module should be placed in a file on its own.

Usually, the file should be named after the module name, replacing dots
in the module name by directory separators. For example, on a Unix
system, the module ``A.B.C`` should be placed in the file ``A/B/C.hs``,
relative to some base directory. If the module is not going to be
imported by another module (``Main``, for example), then you are free to
use any filename for it.

.. index::
   single: Unicode
   single: UTF-8
   single: ASCII
   single: Latin-1
   single: encodings; of source files

GHC assumes that source files are ASCII or UTF-8 only, other
encoding are not recognised. However, invalid UTF-8 sequences
will be ignored in comments, so it is possible to use other encodings
such as Latin-1, as long as the non-comment source code is ASCII
only.

.. _output-files:

Output files
------------

.. index::
   single: interface files
   single: .hi files
   single: object files
   single: .o files

When asked to compile a source file, GHC normally generates two files:
an object file, and an interface file.

The object file, which normally ends in a ``.o`` suffix, contains the
compiled code for the module.

The interface file, which normally ends in a ``.hi`` suffix, contains
the information that GHC needs in order to compile further modules that
depend on this module. It contains things like the types of exported
functions, definitions of data types, and so on. It is stored in a
binary format, so don't try to read one; use the ``--show-iface`` option
instead (see :ref:`hi-options`).

You should think of the object file and the interface file as a pair,
since the interface file is in a sense a compiler-readable description
of the contents of the object file. If the interface file and object
file get out of sync for any reason, then the compiler may end up making
assumptions about the object file that aren't true; trouble will almost
certainly follow. For this reason, we recommend keeping object files and
interface files in the same place (GHC does this by default, but it is
possible to override the defaults as we'll explain shortly).

Every module has a *module name* defined in its source code
(``module A.B.C where ...``).

The name of the object file generated by GHC is derived according to the
following rules, where ⟨osuf⟩ is the object-file suffix (this can be
changed with the ``-osuf`` option).

-  If there is no ``-odir`` option (the default), then the object
   filename is derived from the source filename (ignoring the module
   name) by replacing the suffix with ⟨osuf⟩.

-  If ``-odir ⟨dir⟩`` has been specified, then the object filename is
   ⟨dir⟩/⟨mod⟩.⟨osuf⟩, where ⟨mod⟩ is the module name with dots replaced
   by slashes. GHC will silently create the necessary directory
   structure underneath ⟨dir⟩, if it does not already exist.

The name of the interface file is derived using the same rules, except
that the suffix is ⟨hisuf⟩ (``.hi`` by default) instead of ⟨osuf⟩, and
the relevant options are ``-hidir`` and ``-hisuf`` instead of ``-odir``
and ``-osuf`` respectively.

For example, if GHC compiles the module ``A.B.C`` in the file
``src/A/B/C.hs``, with no ``-odir`` or ``-hidir`` flags, the interface
file will be put in ``src/A/B/C.hi`` and the object file in
``src/A/B/C.o``.

For any module that is imported, GHC requires that the name of the
module in the import statement exactly matches the name of the module in
the interface file (or source file) found using the strategy specified
in :ref:`search-path`. This means that for most modules, the source file
name should match the module name.

However, note that it is reasonable to have a module ``Main`` in a file
named ``foo.hs``, but this only works because GHC never needs to search
for the interface for module ``Main`` (because it is never imported). It
is therefore possible to have several ``Main`` modules in separate
source files in the same directory, and GHC will not get confused.

In batch compilation mode, the name of the object file can also be
overridden using the ``-o`` option, and the name of the interface file
can be specified directly using the ``-ohi`` option.

.. _search-path:

The search path
---------------

.. index::
   single: search path
   single: interface files, finding them
   single: finding interface files

In your program, you import a module ``Foo`` by saying ``import Foo``.
In ``--make`` mode or GHCi, GHC will look for a source file for ``Foo``
and arrange to compile it first. Without ``--make``, GHC will look for
the interface file for ``Foo``, which should have been created by an
earlier compilation of ``Foo``. GHC uses the same strategy in each of
these cases for finding the appropriate file.

This strategy is as follows: GHC keeps a list of directories called the
search path. For each of these directories, it tries appending
``⟨basename⟩.⟨extension⟩`` to the directory, and checks whether the
file exists. The value of ⟨basename⟩ is the module name with dots
replaced by the directory separator ("``/``" or "``\\"``, depending on the
system), and ⟨extension⟩ is a source extension (``hs``, ``lhs``) if we
are in ``--make`` mode or GHCi, or ⟨hisuf⟩ otherwise.

For example, suppose the search path contains directories ``d1``,
``d2``, and ``d3``, and we are in ``--make`` mode looking for the source
file for a module ``A.B.C``. GHC will look in ``d1/A/B/C.hs``,
``d1/A/B/C.lhs``, ``d2/A/B/C.hs``, and so on.

The search path by default contains a single directory: "``.``" (i.e. the
current directory). The following options can be used to add to or change the
contents of the search path:

``-i⟨dir⟩[:⟨dir⟩]*``
    .. index::
       single: -idirs; GHC option

    This flag appends a colon-separated list of ``dirs`` to
    the search path.

``-i``
    resets the search path back to nothing.

This isn't the whole story: GHC also looks for modules in pre-compiled
libraries, known as packages. See the section on packages
(:ref:`packages`) for details.

.. _options-output:

Redirecting the compilation output(s)
-------------------------------------

.. index::
   single: output-directing options
   single: redirecting compilation output

``-o ⟨file⟩``
    .. index::
       single: -o; GHC option

    GHC's compiled output normally goes into a ``.hc``, ``.o``, etc.,
    file, depending on the last-run compilation phase. The option
    ``-o file`` re-directs the output of that last-run phase to ⟨file⟩.

    .. note::
       This “feature” can be counterintuitive: ``ghc -C -o foo.o foo.hs``
       will put the intermediate C code in the file ``foo.o``, name
       notwithstanding!

    This option is most often used when creating an executable file, to
    set the filename of the executable. For example:

    ::

        ghc -o prog --make Main

    will compile the program starting with module ``Main`` and put the
    executable in the file ``prog``.

    Note: on Windows, if the result is an executable file, the extension
    "``.exe``" is added if the specified filename does not already have
    an extension. Thus

    ::

        ghc -o foo Main.hs

    will compile and link the module ``Main.hs``, and put the resulting
    executable in ``foo.exe`` (not ``foo``).

    If you use ``ghc --make`` and you don't use the ``-o``, the name GHC
    will choose for the executable will be based on the name of the file
    containing the module ``Main``. Note that with GHC the ``Main``
    module doesn't have to be put in file ``Main.hs``. Thus both

    ::

        ghc --make Prog

    and

    ::

        ghc --make Prog.hs

    will produce ``Prog`` (or ``Prog.exe`` if you are on Windows).

``-odir ⟨dir⟩``
    .. index::
       single: -odir; GHC option

    Redirects object files to directory ⟨dir⟩. For example:

    ::

        $ ghc -c parse/Foo.hs parse/Bar.hs gurgle/Bumble.hs -odir `uname -m`

    The object files, ``Foo.o``, ``Bar.o``, and ``Bumble.o`` would be
    put into a subdirectory named after the architecture of the
    executing machine (``x86``, ``mips``, etc).

    Note that the ``-odir`` option does *not* affect where the interface
    files are put; use the ``-hidir`` option for that. In the above
    example, they would still be put in ``parse/Foo.hi``,
    ``parse/Bar.hi``, and ``gurgle/Bumble.hi``.

``-ohi ⟨file⟩``
    .. index::
       single: -ohi; GHC option

    The interface output may be directed to another file
    ``bar2/Wurble.iface`` with the option ``-ohi bar2/Wurble.iface``
    (not recommended).

    .. warning::
       If you redirect the interface file somewhere that GHC can't
       find it, then the recompilation checker may get confused (at the
       least, you won't get any recompilation avoidance). We recommend
       using a combination of ``-hidir`` and ``-hisuf`` options instead, if
       possible.

    To avoid generating an interface at all, you could use this option
    to redirect the interface into the bit bucket: ``-ohi /dev/null``,
    for example.

``-hidir ⟨dir⟩``
    .. index::
       single: -hidir; GHC option

    Redirects all generated interface files into ⟨dir⟩, instead of the
    default.

``-stubdir ⟨dir⟩``
    .. index::
       single: -stubdir

    Redirects all generated FFI stub files into ⟨dir⟩. Stub files are
    generated when the Haskell source contains a ``foreign export`` or
    ``foreign import "&wrapper"`` declaration (see
    :ref:`foreign-export-ghc`). The ``-stubdir`` option behaves in
    exactly the same way as ``-odir`` and ``-hidir`` with respect to
    hierarchical modules.

``-dumpdir ⟨dir⟩``
    .. index::
       single: -dumpdir

    Redirects all dump files into ⟨dir⟩. Dump files are generated when
    ``-ddump-to-file`` is used with other ``-ddump-*`` flags.

``-outputdir ⟨dir⟩``
    .. index::
       single: -outputdir

    The ``-outputdir`` option is shorthand for the combination of
    ``-odir``, ``-hidir``, ``-stubdir`` and ``-dumpdir``.

``-osuf ⟨suffix⟩; \ ``-hisuf``\ ⟨suffix⟩; \ ``-hcsuf``\ ⟨suffix⟩``
    .. index::
       single: -osuf

    .. index::
       single: -hisuf

    .. index::
       single: -hcsuf

    The ``-osuf`` ⟨suffix⟩ will change the ``.o`` file suffix for object
    files to whatever you specify. We use this when compiling libraries,
    so that objects for the profiling versions of the libraries don't
    clobber the normal ones.

    Similarly, the ``-hisuf`` ⟨suffix⟩ will change the ``.hi`` file
    suffix for non-system interface files (see :ref:`hi-options`).

    Finally, the option ``-hcsuf`` ⟨suffix⟩ will change the ``.hc`` file
    suffix for compiler-generated intermediate C files.

    The ``-hisuf``/``-osuf`` game is particularly useful if you want to
    compile a program both with and without profiling, in the same
    directory. You can say:

    ::

        ghc ...

    to get the ordinary version, and

    ::

        ghc ... -osuf prof.o -hisuf prof.hi -prof -auto-all

    to get the profiled version.

.. _keeping-intermediates:

Keeping Intermediate Files
--------------------------

.. index::
   single: intermediate files, saving
   single: .hc files, saving
   single: .ll files, saving
   single: .s files, saving

The following options are useful for keeping certain intermediate files
around, when normally GHC would throw these away after compilation:

``-keep-hc-file``
    .. index::
       single: -keep-hc-file
       single: -keep-hc-files

    Keep intermediate ``.hc`` files when doing ``.hs``-to-``.o``
    compilations via :ref:`C <c-code-gen>` (Note: ``.hc`` files are only
    generated by :ref:`unregisterised <unreg>` compilers).

``-keep-llvm-file``
    .. index::
       single: -keep-llvm-file
       single: -keep-llvm-files

    Keep intermediate ``.ll`` files when doing ``.hs``-to-``.o``
    compilations via :ref:`LLVM <llvm-code-gen>` (Note: ``.ll`` files
    aren't generated when using the native code generator, you may need
    to use ``-fllvm`` to force them to be produced).

``-keep-s-file``
    .. index::
       single: -keep-s-file
       single: -keep-s-files

    Keep intermediate ``.s`` files.

``-keep-tmp-files``
    .. index::
       single: -keep-tmp-files
       single: temporary files; keeping

    Instructs the GHC driver not to delete any of its temporary files,
    which it normally keeps in ``/tmp`` (or possibly elsewhere; see
    :ref:`temp-files`). Running GHC with ``-v`` will show you what
    temporary files were generated along the way.

.. _temp-files:

Redirecting temporary files
---------------------------

.. index::
   single: temporary files; redirecting

``-tmpdir``
    .. index::
       single: -tmpdir

    If you have trouble because of running out of space in ``/tmp`` (or
    wherever your installation thinks temporary files should go), you
    may use the ``-tmpdir <dir>``-tmpdir <dir> option option to specify an
    alternate directory. For example, ``-tmpdir .`` says to put temporary files
    in the current working directory.

    Alternatively, use your ``TMPDIR`` environment variable.TMPDIR
    environment variable Set it to the name of the directory where
    temporary files should be put. GCC and other programs will honour
    the ``TMPDIR`` variable as well.

    Even better idea: Set the ``DEFAULT_TMPDIR`` make variable when
    building GHC, and never worry about ``TMPDIR`` again. (see the build
    documentation).

.. _hi-options:

Other options related to interface files
----------------------------------------

.. index::
   single: interface files, options

``-ddump-hi``
    .. index::
       single: -ddump-hi

    Dumps the new interface to standard output.

``-ddump-hi-diffs``
    .. index::
       single: -ddump-hi-diffs

    The compiler does not overwrite an existing ``.hi`` interface file
    if the new one is the same as the old one; this is friendly to
    ``make``. When an interface does change, it is often enlightening to
    be informed. The ``-ddump-hi-diffs`` option will make GHC report the
    differences between the old and new ``.hi`` files.

``-ddump-minimal-imports``
    .. index::
       single: -ddump-minimal-imports

    Dump to the file ``M.imports`` (where ⟨M⟩ is the name of the module
    being compiled) a "minimal" set of import declarations. The
    directory where the ``.imports`` files are created can be controlled
    via the ``-dumpdir`` option.

    You can safely replace all the import declarations in ``M.hs`` with
    those found in its respective ``.imports`` file. Why would you want
    to do that? Because the "minimal" imports (a) import everything
    explicitly, by name, and (b) import nothing that is not required. It
    can be quite painful to maintain this property by hand, so this flag
    is intended to reduce the labour.

``--show-iface ⟨file⟩``
    .. index::
       single: --show-iface

    where ⟨file⟩ is the name of an interface file, dumps the contents of
    that interface in a human-readable format. See :ref:`modes`.

.. _recomp:

The recompilation checker
-------------------------

.. index::
   single: recompilation checker

``-fforce-recomp``
    .. index::
       single: -fforce-recomp
       single: -fno-force-recomp

    Turn off recompilation checking (which is on by default).
    Recompilation checking normally stops compilation early, leaving an
    existing ``.o`` file in place, if it can be determined that the
    module does not need to be recompiled.

In the olden days, GHC compared the newly-generated ``.hi`` file with
the previous version; if they were identical, it left the old one alone
and didn't change its modification date. In consequence, importers of a
module with an unchanged output ``.hi`` file were not recompiled.

This doesn't work any more. Suppose module ``C`` imports module ``B``,
and ``B`` imports module ``A``. So changes to module ``A`` might require
module ``C`` to be recompiled, and hence when ``A.hi`` changes we should
check whether ``C`` should be recompiled. However, the dependencies of
``C`` will only list ``B.hi``, not ``A.hi``, and some changes to ``A``
(changing the definition of a function that appears in an inlining of a
function exported by ``B``, say) may conceivably not change ``B.hi`` one
jot. So now…

GHC calculates a fingerprint (in fact an MD5 hash) of each interface
file, and of each declaration within the interface file. It also keeps
in every interface file a list of the fingerprints of everything it used
when it last compiled the file. If the source file's modification date
is earlier than the ``.o`` file's date (i.e. the source hasn't changed
since the file was last compiled), and the recompilation checking is on,
GHC will be clever. It compares the fingerprints on the things it needs
this time with the fingerprints on the things it needed last time
(gleaned from the interface file of the module being compiled); if they
are all the same it stops compiling early in the process saying
“Compilation IS NOT required”. What a beautiful sight!

You can read about `how all this
works <http://ghc.haskell.org/trac/ghc/wiki/Commentary/Compiler/RecompilationAvoidance>`__
in the GHC commentary.

.. _mutual-recursion:

How to compile mutually recursive modules
-----------------------------------------

.. index::
   single: module system, recursion
   single: recursion, between modules

GHC supports the compilation of mutually recursive modules. This section
explains how.

Every cycle in the module import graph must be broken by a ``hs-boot``
file. Suppose that modules ``A.hs`` and ``B.hs`` are Haskell source
files, thus:

::

    module A where
        import B( TB(..) )

        newtype TA = MkTA Int

        f :: TB -> TA
        f (MkTB x) = MkTA x

    module B where
        import {-# SOURCE #-} A( TA(..) )

        data TB = MkTB !Int

        g :: TA -> TB
        g (MkTA x) = MkTB x

``hs-boot`` files importing, ``hi-boot`` files Here ``A`` imports ``B``,
but ``B`` imports ``A`` with a ``{-# SOURCE #-}`` pragma, which breaks
the circular dependency. Every loop in the module import graph must be
broken by a ``{-# SOURCE #-}`` import; or, equivalently, the module
import graph must be acyclic if ``{-# SOURCE #-}`` imports are ignored.

For every module ``A.hs`` that is ``{-# SOURCE #-}``-imported in this
way there must exist a source file ``A.hs-boot``. This file contains an
abbreviated version of ``A.hs``, thus:

::

    module A where
        newtype TA = MkTA Int

To compile these three files, issue the following commands:

::

      ghc -c A.hs-boot    -- Produces A.hi-boot, A.o-boot
      ghc -c B.hs         -- Consumes A.hi-boot, produces B.hi, B.o
      ghc -c A.hs         -- Consumes B.hi, produces A.hi, A.o
      ghc -o foo A.o B.o  -- Linking the program

There are several points to note here:

-  The file ``A.hs-boot`` is a programmer-written source file. It must
   live in the same directory as its parent source file ``A.hs``.
   Currently, if you use a literate source file ``A.lhs`` you must also
   use a literate boot file, ``A.lhs-boot``; and vice versa.

-  A ``hs-boot`` file is compiled by GHC, just like a ``hs`` file:

   ::

         ghc -c A.hs-boot

   When a hs-boot file ``A.hs-boot`` is compiled, it is checked for
   scope and type errors. When its parent module ``A.hs`` is compiled,
   the two are compared, and an error is reported if the two are
   inconsistent.

-  Just as compiling ``A.hs`` produces an interface file ``A.hi``, and
   an object file ``A.o``, so compiling ``A.hs-boot`` produces an
   interface file ``A.hi-boot``, and an pseudo-object file ``A.o-boot``:

   -  The pseudo-object file ``A.o-boot`` is empty (don't link it!), but
      it is very useful when using a Makefile, to record when the
      ``A.hi-boot`` was last brought up to date (see :ref:`using-make`).

   -  The ``hi-boot`` generated by compiling a ``hs-boot`` file is in
      the same machine-generated binary format as any other
      GHC-generated interface file (e.g. ``B.hi``). You can display its
      contents with ``ghc --show-iface``. If you specify a directory for
      interface files, the ``-ohidir`` flag, then that affects ``hi-boot`` files
      too.

-  If hs-boot files are considered distinct from their parent source
   files, and if a ``{-# SOURCE #-}`` import is considered to refer to
   the hs-boot file, then the module import graph must have no cycles.
   The command ``ghc -M`` will report an error if a cycle is found.

-  A module ``M`` that is ``{-# SOURCE #-}``\-imported in a program will
   usually also be ordinarily imported elsewhere. If not, ``ghc --make``
   automatically adds ``M`` to the set of modules it tries to compile
   and link, to ensure that ``M``\'s implementation is included in the
   final program.

A hs-boot file need only contain the bare minimum of information needed
to get the bootstrapping process started. For example, it doesn't need
to contain declarations for *everything* that module ``A`` exports, only
the things required by the module(s) that import ``A`` recursively.

A hs-boot file is written in a subset of Haskell:

-  The module header (including the export list), and import statements,
   are exactly as in Haskell, and so are the scoping rules. Hence, to
   mention a non-Prelude type or class, you must import it.

-  There must be no value declarations, but there can be type signatures
   for values. For example:

   ::

        double :: Int -> Int

-  Fixity declarations are exactly as in Haskell.

-  Vanilla type synonym declarations are exactly as in Haskell.

-  Open type and data family declarations are exactly as in Haskell.

-  A closed type family may optionally omit its equations, as in the
   following example:

   ::

        type family ClosedFam a where ..

   The ``..`` is meant literally -- you should write two dots in your
   file. Note that the ``where`` clause is still necessary to
   distinguish closed families from open ones. If you give any equations
   of a closed family, you must give all of them, in the same order as
   they appear in the accompanying Haskell file.

-  A data type declaration can either be given in full, exactly as in
   Haskell, or it can be given abstractly, by omitting the '=' sign and
   everything that follows. For example:

   ::

        data T a b

   In a *source* program this would declare TA to have no constructors
   (a GHC extension: see :ref:`nullary-types`), but in an hi-boot file
   it means "I don't know or care what the constructors are". This is
   the most common form of data type declaration, because it's easy to
   get right. You *can* also write out the constructors but, if you do
   so, you must write it out precisely as in its real definition.

   If you do not write out the constructors, you may need to give a kind
   annotation (:ref:`kinding`), to tell GHC the kind of the type
   variable, if it is not "\*". (In source files, this is worked out
   from the way the type variable is used in the constructors.) For
   example:

   ::

        data R (x :: * -> *) y

   You cannot use ``deriving`` on a data type declaration; write an
   ``instance`` declaration instead.

-  Class declarations is exactly as in Haskell, except that you may not
   put default method declarations. You can also omit all the
   superclasses and class methods entirely; but you must either omit
   them all or put them all in.

-  You can include instance declarations just as in Haskell; but omit
   the "where" part.

-  The default role for abstract datatype parameters is now
   representational. (An abstract datatype is one with no constructors
   listed.) To get another role, use a role annotation. (See
   :ref:`roles`.)

.. _module-signatures:

Module signatures
-----------------

GHC supports the specification of module signatures, which both
implementations and users can typecheck against separately. This
functionality should be considered experimental for now; some details,
especially for type classes and type families, may change. This system
was originally described in `Backpack: Retrofitting Haskell with
Interfaces <http://plv.mpi-sws.org/backpack/>`__. Signature files are
somewhat similar to ``hs-boot`` files, but have the ``hsig`` extension
and behave slightly differently.

Suppose that I have modules ``String.hs`` and ``A.hs``, thus:

::

    module Text where
        data Text = Text String

        empty :: Text
        empty = Text ""

        toString :: Text -> String
        toString (Text s) = s

    module A where
        import Text
        z = toString empty

Presently, module ``A`` depends explicitly on a concrete implementation
of ``Text``. What if we wanted to a signature ``Text``, so we could vary
the implementation with other possibilities (e.g. packed UTF-8 encoded
bytestrings)? To do this, we can write a signature ``TextSig.hsig``, and
modify ``A`` to include the signature instead:

::

    module TextSig where
        data Text
        empty :: Text
        toString :: Text -> String

    module A where
        import TextSig
        z = toString empty

To compile these two files, we need to specify what module we would like
to use to implement the signature. This can be done by compiling the
implementation, and then using the ``-sig-of`` flag to specify the
implementation backing a signature:

::

    ghc -c Text.hs
    ghc -c TextSig.hsig -sig-of "TextSig is main:Text"
    ghc -c A.hs

To specify multiple signatures, use a comma-separated list. The
``-sig-of`` parameter is required to specify the backing implementations
of all home modules, even in one-shot compilation mode. At the moment,
you must specify the full module name (unit ID, colon, and then
module name), although in the future we may support more user-friendly
syntax.

To just type-check an interface file, no ``-sig-of`` is necessary;
instead, just pass the options ``-fno-code -fwrite-interface``. ``hsig``
files will generate normal interface files which other files can also
use to type-check against. However, at the moment, we always assume that
an entity defined in a signature is a unique identifier (even though we
may happen to know it is type equal with another identifier). In the
future, we will support passing shaping information to the compiler in
order to let it know about these type equalities.

Just like ``hs-boot`` files, when an ``hsig`` file is compiled it is
checked for type consistency against the backing implementation.
Signature files are also written in a subset of Haskell essentially
identical to that of ``hs-boot`` files.

There is one important gotcha with the current implementation:
currently, instances from backing implementations will "leak" code that
uses signatures, and explicit instance declarations in signatures are
forbidden. This behavior will be subject to change.

.. _using-make:

Using ``make``
--------------

.. index::
   single: make; building programs with

It is reasonably straightforward to set up a ``Makefile`` to use with
GHC, assuming you name your source files the same as your modules. Thus:

::

    HC      = ghc
    HC_OPTS = -cpp $(EXTRA_HC_OPTS)

    SRCS = Main.lhs Foo.lhs Bar.lhs
    OBJS = Main.o   Foo.o   Bar.o

    .SUFFIXES : .o .hs .hi .lhs .hc .s

    cool_pgm : $(OBJS)
            rm -f $@
            $(HC) -o $@ $(HC_OPTS) $(OBJS)

    # Standard suffix rules
    .o.hi:
            @:

    .lhs.o:
            $(HC) -c $< $(HC_OPTS)

    .hs.o:
            $(HC) -c $< $(HC_OPTS)

    .o-boot.hi-boot:
            @:

    .lhs-boot.o-boot:
            $(HC) -c $< $(HC_OPTS)

    .hs-boot.o-boot:
            $(HC) -c $< $(HC_OPTS)

    # Inter-module dependencies
    Foo.o Foo.hc Foo.s    : Baz.hi          # Foo imports Baz
    Main.o Main.hc Main.s : Foo.hi Baz.hi   # Main imports Foo and Baz

.. note::
    Sophisticated ``make`` variants may achieve some of the above more
    elegantly. Notably, ``gmake``\'s pattern rules let you write the more
    comprehensible:

    ::

        %.o : %.lhs
                $(HC) -c $< $(HC_OPTS)

    What we've shown should work with any ``make``.

Note the cheesy ``.o.hi`` rule: It records the dependency of the
interface (``.hi``) file on the source. The rule says a ``.hi`` file can
be made from a ``.o`` file by doing…nothing. Which is true.

Note that the suffix rules are all repeated twice, once for normal
Haskell source files, and once for ``hs-boot`` files (see
:ref:`mutual-recursion`).

Note also the inter-module dependencies at the end of the Makefile,
which take the form

::

    Foo.o Foo.hc Foo.s    : Baz.hi          # Foo imports Baz

They tell ``make`` that if any of ``Foo.o``, ``Foo.hc`` or ``Foo.s``
have an earlier modification date than ``Baz.hi``, then the out-of-date
file must be brought up to date. To bring it up to date, ``make`` looks
for a rule to do so; one of the preceding suffix rules does the job
nicely. These dependencies can be generated automatically by ``ghc``;
see :ref:`makefile-dependencies`

.. _makefile-dependencies:

Dependency generation
---------------------

.. index::
   single: dependencies in Makefiles
   single: Makefile dependencies

Putting inter-dependencies of the form ``Foo.o : Bar.hi`` into your
``Makefile`` by hand is rather error-prone. Don't worry, GHC has support
for automatically generating the required dependencies. Add the
following to your ``Makefile``:

::

    depend :
            ghc -M $(HC_OPTS) $(SRCS)

Now, before you start compiling, and any time you change the ``imports``
in your program, do ``make depend`` before you do ``make cool_pgm``. The command
``ghc -M`` will append the needed dependencies to your ``Makefile``.

In general, ``ghc -M Foo`` does the following. For each module ``M`` in
the set ``Foo`` plus all its imports (transitively), it adds to the
Makefile:

-  A line recording the dependence of the object file on the source
   file.

   ::

       M.o : M.hs

   (or ``M.lhs`` if that is the filename you used).

-  For each import declaration ``import X`` in ``M``, a line recording
   the dependence of ``M`` on ``X``:

   ::

       M.o : X.hi

-  For each import declaration ``import {-# SOURCE #-} X`` in ``M``, a
   line recording the dependence of ``M`` on ``X``:

   ::

       M.o : X.hi-boot

   (See :ref:`mutual-recursion` for details of ``hi-boot`` style
   interface files.)

If ``M`` imports multiple modules, then there will be multiple lines
with ``M.o`` as the target.

There is no need to list all of the source files as arguments to the
``ghc -M`` command; ``ghc`` traces the dependencies, just like
``ghc --make`` (a new feature in GHC 6.4).

Note that ``ghc -M`` needs to find a *source file* for each module in
the dependency graph, so that it can parse the import declarations and
follow dependencies. Any pre-compiled modules without source files must
therefore belong to a package [1]_.

By default, ``ghc -M`` generates all the dependencies, and then
concatenates them onto the end of ``makefile`` (or ``Makefile`` if
``makefile`` doesn't exist) bracketed by the lines
"``# DO NOT DELETE: Beginning of Haskell dependencies``" and
"``# DO NOT DELETE: End of Haskell dependencies``". If these lines
already exist in the ``makefile``, then the old dependencies are deleted
first.

Don't forget to use the same ``-package`` options on the ``ghc -M``
command line as you would when compiling; this enables the dependency
generator to locate any imported modules that come from packages. The
package modules won't be included in the dependencies generated, though
(but see the ``-include-pkg-deps`` option below).

The dependency generation phase of GHC can take some additional options,
which you may find useful. The options which affect dependency
generation are:

``-ddump-mod-cycles``
    Display a list of the cycles in the module graph. This is useful
    when trying to eliminate such cycles.

``-v2``
    Print a full list of the module dependencies to stdout. (This is the
    standard verbosity flag, so the list will also be displayed with
    ``-v3`` and ``-v4``; :ref:`options-help`.)

``-dep-makefile ⟨file⟩``
    Use ⟨file⟩ as the makefile, rather than ``makefile`` or
    ``Makefile``. If ⟨file⟩ doesn't exist, ``mkdependHS`` creates it. We
    often use ``-dep-makefile .depend`` to put the dependencies in
    ``.depend`` and then ``include`` the file ``.depend`` into
    ``Makefile``.

``-dep-suffix <suf>``
    Make extra dependencies that declare that files with suffix
    ``.<suf>_<osuf>`` depend on interface files with suffix
    ``.<suf>_hi``, or (for ``{-# SOURCE #-}`` imports) on ``.hi-boot``.
    Multiple ``-dep-suffix`` flags are permitted. For example,
    ``-dep-suffix a -dep-suffix b`` will make dependencies for ``.hs``
    on ``.hi``, ``.a_hs`` on ``.a_hi``, and ``.b_hs`` on ``.b_hi``.
    (Useful in conjunction with NoFib "ways".)

``--exclude-module=<file>``
    Regard ``<file>`` as "stable"; i.e., exclude it from having
    dependencies on it.

``-include-pkg-deps``
    Regard modules imported from packages as unstable, i.e., generate
    dependencies on any imported package modules (including ``Prelude``,
    and all other standard Haskell libraries). Dependencies are not
    traced recursively into packages; dependencies are only generated
    for home-package modules on external-package modules directly
    imported by the home package module. This option is normally only
    used by the various system libraries.

.. _orphan-modules:

Orphan modules and instance declarations
----------------------------------------

Haskell specifies that when compiling module ``M``, any instance declaration
in any module "below" ``M`` is visible. (Module ``A`` is "below" ``M`` if ``A`` is
imported directly by ``M``, or if ``A`` is below a module that ``M`` imports
directly.) In principle, GHC must therefore read the interface files of
every module below ``M``, just in case they contain an instance declaration
that matters to ``M``. This would be a disaster in practice, so GHC tries to
be clever.

In particular, if an instance declaration is in the same module as the
definition of any type or class mentioned in the *head* of the instance
declaration (the part after the "``=>``"; see :ref:`instance-rules`), then GHC
has to visit that interface file anyway. Example:

::

      module A where
        instance C a => D (T a) where ...
        data T a = ...

The instance declaration is only relevant if the type ``T`` is in use, and
if so, GHC will have visited ``A``\'s interface file to find ``T``\'s definition.

The only problem comes when a module contains an instance declaration
and GHC has no other reason for visiting the module. Example:

::

      module Orphan where
        instance C a => D (T a) where ...
        class C a where ...

Here, neither ``D`` nor ``T`` is declared in module ``Orphan``. We call such modules
“orphan modules”. GHC identifies orphan modules, and visits the
interface file of every orphan module below the module being compiled.
This is usually wasted work, but there is no avoiding it. You should
therefore do your best to have as few orphan modules as possible.

Functional dependencies complicate matters. Suppose we have:

::

      module B where
        instance E T Int where ...
        data T = ...

Is this an orphan module? Apparently not, because ``T`` is declared in
the same module. But suppose class ``E`` had a functional dependency:

::

      module Lib where
        class E x y | y -> x where ...

Then in some importing module ``M``, the constraint ``(E a Int)`` should be
"improved" by setting ``a = T``, *even though there is no explicit
mention* of ``T`` in ``M``.

These considerations lead to the following definition of an orphan
module:

-  An *orphan module* orphan module contains at least one *orphan
   instance* or at least one *orphan rule*.

-  An instance declaration in a module ``M`` is an *orphan instance* if
   orphan instance

   -  The class of the instance declaration is not declared in ``M``, and

   -  *Either* the class has no functional dependencies, and none of the
      type constructors in the instance head is declared in ``M``; *or*
      there is a functional dependency for which none of the type
      constructors mentioned in the *non-determined* part of the
      instance head is defined in ``M``.

   Only the instance head counts. In the example above, it is not good
   enough for ``C``\'s declaration to be in module ``A``; it must be the
   declaration of ``D`` or ``T``.

-  A rewrite rule in a module ``M`` is an *orphan rule* orphan rule if none
   of the variables, type constructors, or classes that are free in the
   left hand side of the rule are declared in ``M``.

If you use the flag ``-fwarn-orphans``, GHC will warn you if you are
creating an orphan module. Like any warning, you can switch the warning
off with ``-fno-warn-orphans``, and ``-Werror`` will make the
compilation fail if the warning is issued.

You can identify an orphan module by looking in its interface file,
``M.hi``, using the ```--show-iface`` :ref:`mode <modes>`. If there is a
``[orphan module]`` on the first line, GHC considers it an orphan
module.

.. [1]
   This is a change in behaviour relative to 6.2 and earlier.