[project @ 2001-09-17 12:12:31 by sewardj]

Update for 5.02.

MERGE TO STABLE

diff --git a/ghc/ANNOUNCE b/ghc/ANNOUNCE
index c7a0904..f3e262f 100644 (file)
--- a/ghc/ANNOUNCE
+++ b/ghc/ANNOUNCE
@@ -1,12 +1,12 @@
 
-    The (Interactive) Glasgow Haskell Compiler -- version 5.00
+    The (Interactive) Glasgow Haskell Compiler -- version 5.02
    ============================================================
 
 We are pleased to announce a new major release of the Glasgow Haskell
-Compiler (GHC), version 5.00.  The source distribution is freely
-available via the World-Wide Web and through anon. FTP, under a
-BSD-style license.  See below for download details.  Pre-built
-packages for Linux, FreeBSD, Solaris and Win32 are also available.
+Compiler (GHC), version 5.02.  The source distribution is freely
+available via the World-Wide Web, under a BSD-style license.  See
+below for download details.  Pre-built packages for Linux, FreeBSD,
+Solaris and Win32 are also available.
 
 Haskell is a standard lazy functional programming language; the
 current language version is Haskell 98, agreed in December 1998.
@@ -35,45 +35,39 @@ GHC's Web page lives at
  What's new
 ============
 
-5.00 has been majorly revamped since the previous stable version, 4.08.2.
-This should be a stable release.  Major changes since 4.08.2 are:
+5.02 incorporates many small refinements and bug fixes over the previous 
+stable release (5.00.2).  There are no major changes.  
 
-   - An interactive system, similar in style to Hugs.  You can interactively
-     load and unload modules, run expressions, ask the types of things.
-     Module dependencies are tracked and chased automatically.
-     Combinations of compiled and interpreted modules may be used.
-     All the GHC libraries are available in interactive mode, as are
-     most of the Glasgow extensions to Haskell 98.  Compilation in
-     interactive mode (to bytecode) is about three times faster than
-     compiling to object code.
+   - Much improved support for Windows platforms.  Binary builds are
+     now entirely freestanding.  There's no need to install Cygwin or
+     Mingwin to use it.  It's a one-click-install-and-off-you-go story now.
 
-   - Batch compilation of multiple modules at once, with automatic
-     dependency chasing.  For large programs this can halve compilation
-     times, and removes the need for Makefiles.
+   - Several small changes to bring GHC into line with the newest Haskell 98 
+     report.
 
-   - Enhanced package (library) management system.  Packages may be
-     installed and removed from an installation using the ghc-pkg tool.
+   - GHCi (the interactive system) now works on Windows.
 
-   - Initial Unicode support - the Char type is now 31 bits.
+   - Partial FFI support in GHCi.  At the moment, foreign import (both
+     static and dynamic) is supported on x86 and sparc platforms.
 
-   - Sparc native code generator, giving much faster compilation on sparcs.
-     (Native code generation for x86s has been available for a while).
+   - A compacting garbage collector, to try and reduce space use.
 
-   - Improved heap profiling - you can restrict heap profiles
-     by type, closure description, cost centre, and module.
+   - Experimental: partial support for hierarchical module names.
 
-   - Support for the latest Foreign Function Interface (FFI)
-     proposals.  Marcin Kowalczyk's hsc2hs tool is included.
+   - Experimental: following heroic hacking by Ken Shan, 5.02 now
+     works on Alpha (Tru64 only).  Many 64-bit bugs have been shaken
+     out.  At the moment only the batch-mode compiler works -- no GHCi
+     or native code generator yet.
 
-   - Language extensions: parallel list comprehensions and functional
-     dependencies.
-
-   - The usual huge collection of bug fixes.  Most reported bugs have
-     been fixed.
+We've found and fixed more bugs than you could possibly imagine.  A
+big thank-you to all those who reported bugs in the 5.00.X series.  We
+claim to have fixed almost all reported bugs.  In general we've spent
+a large amount of effort trying to improve the stability of the
+system relative to 5.00.X.  (Famous last words ...)
 
 For full details see the release notes:
 
-        http://www.haskell.org/ghc/docs/5.00/set/release-5-00.html
+        http://www.haskell.org/ghc/docs/5.02/set/release-5-02.html
 
 
 
@@ -109,7 +103,7 @@ comp.lang.functional FAQ  http://www.cs.nott.ac.uk/~gmh/faq.html
  System requirements
 =====================
 
-To compile programs with GHC, you need a machine with 32+MB memory, GNU C
+To compile programs with GHC, you need a machine with 64+MB memory, GNU C
 and perl. This release is known to work on the following platforms:
 
   * i386-unknown-{linux,freebsd,mingw32}
@@ -127,7 +121,7 @@ wunderhacker), but haven't been tested due to lack of time/hardware:
 The builder's guide included in distribution gives a complete
 run-down of what ports work; an on-line version can be found at
 
-   http://www.haskell.org/ghc/docs/5.00/building/building-guide.html
+   http://www.haskell.org/ghc/docs/5.02/building/building-guide.html