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Getting Started with the Haskell Platform
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The Haskell platform
The glorious Glasgow Haskell Compilation System, or simply Glasgow Haskell
Compiler (GHC), is the most widely used Haskell compiler. It is the current de
facto standard. The compiler is packaged into the Haskell platform that follows
Python's principle, "Batteries included". The platform is updated twice a year
with new compilers and libraries. It usually includes a compiler, an interactive
Read-Evaluate-Print Loop (REPL) interpreter, Haskell 98/2010 libraries (so-called
Prelude) that includes most of the common denitions and functions, and a set
of commonly used libraries. If you are on Windows or Mac OS X, it is strongly
recommended to use prepackaged installers of the Haskell platform at
http://www.haskell.org/platform/.
Many Linux distributions include the Haskell platform in their repositories.
Though it becomes less maintained, as more and more developers tend to stay on
the bleeding edge, it is better to just install the core. For instance, on Debian-based
systems, you can get started by running the following command:
sudo apt-get install ghc cabal-install
cabal update
Even though Windows support is quite impressive, Linux/Mac OS X installation
usually has a broader support because they include the free and complete C/C++
compiler tool chain, GCC. Although MinGW32 for Windows tries to provide
such toolkit, it usually lacks a few GNU libraries to be completely compatible
with the Linux environment. The missing 64-bit support on Windows might be
crucial for data intensive applications. So for advanced development, you require
a Unix-based machine.
For example, installation on Mac OS X 10.8 is quite straightforward and can be done
as follows:
1. Install the Command Line Tools for Xcode package from
http://developer.apple.com to get GNU Compiler Chain (GCC).
It is required for Haskell compiler to work.
2. Download a 64-bit package of Haskell platform from
http://haskell.org.
3. Double-click on the package and the installer appears. It warns you that
the Haskell platform requires GCC. Click on Continue, as shown in the
following screenshot: