haskell/cabal

`executable-dynamic: True` should apply to `build-type: Custom` setup

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#1720 opened on Mar 10, 2014

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Cabal: file formatCabal: otherattention: pr-welcomegood first issuetype: enhancement

Description

I have a Haskell installation with only shared libraries, and cabal's config contains:

library-vanilla: False
library-profiling: False
shared: True
executable-dynamic: True

This fails for packages with build-type: Custom, because cabal-install tries to link setup against non-existent static libraries.

Contributor guide

Tech stack
None
Domain
build systemtooling
Issue type
bug
DifficultyEstimated implementation difficulty for a new contributor, from 1 for very small changes to 5 for expert-level work.
3
Estimated timeA rough time range for an experienced contributor to investigate, implement, test, and prepare a pull request.
1-2 days
Activity statusHow available the issue appears right now: fresh, active, stale, blocked, or waiting on maintainer input.
stale
ClarityHow clearly the issue explains the expected change, acceptance criteria, and next step.
clear
Prerequisites
Basic knowledge of cabalUnderstanding of static vs shared libraries in Haskell
Newbie friendlinessA 1-100 score estimating how approachable this issue is for first-time contributors.
25
Research direction
The issue describes a bug where `executable dynamic: True` is not applied to packages with `build type: Custom`, causing linking failures against absent static libraries. Investigate how cabal install selects linking flags for the setup executable, likely in `Distribution.Simple.Build`. Look for any existing comments or proposed solutions in the discussion. The fix may involve modifying the build system to propagate the dynamic linking setting to the setup executable.