- The Glasgow Haskell Compiler -- version 4.01
+ The Glasgow Haskell Compiler -- version 4.02
==============================================
We are pleased to announce a new release of the Glasgow Haskell
-Compiler (GHC), version 4.01. The source distribution is freely
+Compiler (GHC), version 4.02. The source distribution is freely
available via the World-Wide Web and through anon. FTP; details below.
Haskell is "the" standard lazy functional programming language; the
-current language version is 1.4, agreed in April, 1997. Haskell
-related information is available from the Haskell home page at
+current language version is Haskell 98, agreed in December 1998.
+Haskell related information is available from the Haskell home page at
http://haskell.org/
+ What's new
=============
-GHC 4.01 is a small increment over 4.00. Many bugs have been fixed.
-The following features are new:
+GHC 4.02 fixes several bugs in 4.01 and adds the following features:
- * Weak pointers,
- * The foreign function interface is now complete.
+ * Full Haskell 98 language support,
-In addition, bootstrapping the compiler should now work out of the box.
+ * Scoped type variables,
+
+ * A new generational garbage collector.
The following things have not been fixed yet:
* The native code generator is still flaky, and is turned off by
default for the time being.
+
* The profiler is still flaky.
+As usual, see the release notes (on the web page) for full details.
+
+A source distribution and binaries for common architectures are
+available from the web page.
+
+ Mailing lists
================
To compile up this source-only release, you need a machine with 32+MB
memory, GNU C (`gcc'), `perl' plus a version of GHC installed (version
-2.10 at least). This release is known to work on the following platforms:
+2.10 at least, 3.02 recommended). This release is known to work on
+the following platforms:
* i386-unknown-{linux,solaris2,freebsd,cygwin32}
* sparc-sun-{sunos4,solaris2}
The installer's guide included in distribution gives a complete
run-down of what-ports-work; an on-line version can be found at
- http://www.dcs.gla.ac.uk/fp/software/ghc/4.01/installation_guide/installing_toc.html
+ http://www.dcs.gla.ac.uk/fp/software/ghc/4.02/installation_guide/installing_toc.html