2. Things to check before you start typing

Here's a list of things to check before you get started.

1. Disk space needed: About 30MB (five hamburgers' worth) of disk space for the most basic binary distribution of GHC; more for some platforms, e.g., Alphas. An extra ``bundle'' (e.g., concurrent Haskell libraries) might take you to 8--10 hamburgers. You'll need over 100MB (say, 20 hamburgers' worth) if you need to build the basic stuff from scratch. All of the above are estimates of disk-space needs.(I don't yet know the disk requirements for the non-GHC tools).
2. Use an appropriate machine, compilers, and things. SPARC boxes, DEC Alphas running OSF/1, and PCs running Linux, FreeBSD, or Solaris are all fully supported. MIPS, AIX, Win32 and HP boxes are in pretty good shape. Section Port Info gives the full run-down on ports or lack thereof.
3. Be sure that the ``pre-supposed'' utilities are installed. Section Installing Pre-Supposed Utilities elaborates.
4. If you have any problem when building or installing the Glasgow tools, please check the ``known pitfalls'' (Section Building Pitfalls). Also check the known bugs page: http://www.dcs.gla.ac.uk/fp/software/ghc/ghc-bugs.html. If you feel there is still some shortcoming in our procedure or instructions, please report it. For GHC, please see the bug-reporting section of the User's guide (separate document), to maximise the usefulness of your report. If in doubt, please send a message to glasgow-haskell-bugs@dcs.gla.ac.uk.