cabal-install config setting "documentation: True" ignores base library dependency

[bos]

(Imported from Trac #707, reported by KiYungAhn on 2010-07-07)

I use "documentation: True" setting in the cabal-install config file (in linux $HOME/.cabal/config) since I prefer to install documentation locally with the library, and recently found out that this ignores the base library version in the .cabal files. I am not sure about whether they ignore other libraries but for base it is for sure. Even though the package cabal file specifies base >= 4 the cabal-install seems to revert back to base version 3 when I use "documentation: True" in the config file.

In particular, I found this bug when I was working with the RepLib? package. I had a link error when I was using the "documentation: True" option in the config, but when I commented that out and worked with the default config file everything worked.

[bos]

(Imported comment by @dcoutts on 2010-07-07)

We will need more details about this.

Since apparently TH is involved, it might possibly be an instance of http://hackage.haskell.org/trac/ghc/ticket/2555 which itself seems to be a hard-to-reproduce problem.

[bos]

(Imported comment by @kosmikus on 2010-08-09)

I'm not sure that I fully understand the description. Is this still an open issue with current versions of cabal-install?

[gregorycollins]

These days base-3/-4 issues are rare -- closing this as obsolete unless OP can send us a failing test case to reproduce.