[project @ 2002-04-23 15:41:58 by simonmar]

[ghc-hetmet.git] / docs / building / building.sgml

diff --git a/docs/building/building.sgml b/docs/building/building.sgml
index 3bcb9f3..dc6ea61 100644 (file)
--- a/docs/building/building.sgml
+++ b/docs/building/building.sgml
@@ -127,6 +127,11 @@ machine in order to compile (most of) the sources, however.
       <varlistentry>
        <term>Build GHC from intermediate C <Filename>.hc</Filename> files<indexterm><primary>hc files</primary></indexterm>:</term>
        <listitem>
+         <para><emphasis>NOTE: GHC version 5.xx is significantly
+         harder to bootstrap from C than previous versions.  We
+         recommend starting from version 4.08.2 if you need to
+         bootstrap in this way.</emphasis></para>
+
          <para>You need a working GHC to use a source distribution.
           What if you don't have a working GHC? Then you may be able
           to bootstrap up from the intermediate C
@@ -1096,13 +1101,13 @@ or higher)</term>
        </varlistentry>
 
        <varlistentry>
-         <term>i386-unknown-cygwin32:</term>
-         <indexterm><primary>i386-unknown-cygwin32</primary></indexterm>
+         <term>i386-unknown-mingw32:</term>
+         <indexterm><primary>i386-unknown-mingw32</primary></indexterm>
          <listitem>
-           <para>Fully supported under Win9x/NT, including a native
-            code generator. Requires the <Literal>cygwin32</Literal>
-            compatibility library and a healthy collection of GNU
-            tools (i.e., gcc, GNU ld, bash etc.).</para>
+           <para>Fully supported under Win9x, WinNT, Win2k, and
+            WinXP.  Includes a native code generator.  Building from
+            source requires a recent <Literal>cygwin32</Literal>
+            distribution to be installed.</para>
          </listitem>
        </varlistentry>
 
@@ -1177,14 +1182,17 @@ script will tell you if you are missing something.
 <indexterm><primary>Perl, pre-supposed</primary></indexterm>
 <listitem>
 <para>
-<Emphasis>You have to have Perl to proceed!</Emphasis>
-It is pretty easy to install.
+<Emphasis>You have to have Perl to proceed!</Emphasis> Perl version 5
+at least is required.  GHC has been known to tickle bugs in Perl, so
+if you find that Perl crashes when running GHC try updating (or
+downgrading) your Perl installation.  Versions of Perl that we use and
+are known to be fairly stable are 5.005 and 5.6.1.
 </para>
 
 <para>
-Perl&nbsp;5 is required.  For Win32 platforms, you should use the binary
-supplied in the InstallShield (copy it to <filename>/bin</filename>).
-The Cygwin-supplied Perl seems not to work.
+For Win32 platforms, you should use the binary supplied in the
+InstallShield (copy it to <filename>/bin</filename>).  The
+Cygwin-supplied Perl seems not to work.
 </para>
 
 <para>
@@ -3306,6 +3314,11 @@ the canned rules being included, and conflicting with yours.
 <indexterm><primary>booting GHC from .hc files</primary></indexterm>
 <indexterm><primary>porting GHC</primary></indexterm></Title>
 
+    <para><emphasis>NOTE: GHC version 5.xx is significantly harder to
+    bootstrap from C than previous versions.  We recommend starting
+    from version 4.08.2 if you need to bootstrap in this
+    way.</emphasis></para>
+
 <para>
 This section is for people trying to get GHC going by using the supplied
 intermediate C (<filename>.hc</filename>) files.  This would probably be
@@ -3587,11 +3600,13 @@ We install it in <filename>c:/mingw</filename>.
 
 <listitem>
 <para>
-Install a version of GHC, and put it in your <constant>PATH</constant>. 
-
+Install a version of GHC, and put it in your
+<constant>PATH</constant> (the installer tells you the path element
+you need to add upon completion.)
 </para>
 </listitem>
 
+<!--
 <listitem>
 <para>
 Because of various hard-wired infelicities, you need to copy
@@ -3615,8 +3630,9 @@ bash.exe</filename> is also provided as <filename>sh.exe</filename>.
 
 
 <listitem>
-<para> You should not need to install <command>ssh</command> 
-and <command>cvs</command>: they come with Cygwin.</para>
+<para> Both <command>cvs</command> and <command>ssh</command>
+come with Cygwin, but make sure you select them when running
+the Cygwin installer.
 </listitem>
 
 <listitem>