Bug#1125673: ghc: Please do not ship files under /var

[Stéphane Glondu]

Hi,

Le 16/04/2026 à 13:20, Gioele Barabucci a écrit :
>> >1105 Haskell packages (all Haskell packages?) install one or more 
>> >files in /var/lib/ghc/package.conf.d/.
>> >
>> >Would it be possible to change the way these packages are built, so 
>> >that they do not ship any files under /var, a directory meant to 
>> >"[contain] _variable_ data files" (FHS)?
>>
>> Kari, can you give us some insight about why they were moved to
>> /var in the first place?
> 
> Hi Kari, gentle ping. :)
> 
>  From conversations in IRC it seems that it would be easy to move these 
> files away from /var, but what is missing is to understand (Chesterton's 
> Fence-like) for which historical reasons these files are installed there.

I guess the same applies to OCaml packages... And (as far as OCaml is 
concerned), I am partly responsible.

Back in 2008, at the time of introduction of dh-ocaml, I must admit I 
didn't question the choice of location of /var/lib/ocaml nor did I have 
a strong opinion on where they should have been. Now is different :-)

Adding debian-ocaml-maint at l.d.o to CC, so that maybe someone with the 
proper recollection can add insight.


Cheers,

-- 
Stéphane