Create stack template(s) for beginners

[MatthijsBlom]

Stack has a few thinks going for it:

• Installation of GHC &c. just works (for beginners, anyway);
• The viability of stack as a setup tool need not be maintained by tilapia, as it is already being maintained by commercialhaskell;
• At some point the advanced beginner will need to interact with a build tool anyway – might as well be this one;
• Stack templates offer ample space for explanatory material. With only a few exceptions (among them, sadly, stack.yaml), every file is fully customizable, and could therefore be supplied with notes tailored to beginners.

(Does Cabal have similar functionality?)

I propose a series of templates be produced, from, say, a minimal executable, to a simple library, to more typical projects, to a grand tour of stack exotica.

I'm curious to hear what you think.

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See commercialhaskell/stack-templates for basic instructions.

The Stack user guide suggests publishing of templates is very easy; more difficult will be making sure people know they exist – and writing them, of course.

[tomjaguarpaw]

Oh, very interesting idea. I don't use Stack and I had no idea that these templates existed! I've never heard of anything like this for cabal. Do the templates have deep integration with Stack or would some lightweight mustache-like templactes do a similar job for cabal?

[MatthijsBlom]

[…] Do the templates have deep integration with Stack

Well, templates are inherently single-use per project, but initialization of stack projects with stack new always use a template. Trying it for yourself is very easy: just install stack and run stack new ProjectName. You can compare the result with the source of the default template. See also the relevant section of the Stack user guide.

or would some lightweight mustache-like templactes do a similar job for cabal?

I wouldn't know, as I do not yet know Mustache.

[tomjaguarpaw]

Ah, I see. It sounds like you are suggesting creating templates that a new user can use like stack new myproject tilapia/minimal-executable or stack new myproject tilapia/simple-library. Is that right?

[MatthijsBlom]

That's right.

[tomjaguarpaw]

Yes, I like that idea. Cabal doesn't have anything similar as far as I know.

[ketzacoatl]

How would these new templates differ from https://github.com/commercialhaskell/stack-templates/blob/master/simple-library.hsfiles and https://github.com/commercialhaskell/stack-templates/blob/master/simple.hsfiles, or are those sufficiently useful as-is?