./configure fails on Ubuntu Lucid Lynx, due to 'unknown package: haskell98' error

[AndyL]

After using apt-get to install GHC version 6.12.1, I downloaded/untarred haskell-platform-2010.1.0.0.tar.gz and ran ./configure, which quickly failed with the message:

configure: error: Your installation of ghc does not appear to work.

It cannot compile a simple program (see config.log for the details). If you installed ghc from a generic binary tarball then it is worth checking that you have the 'gmp' C library and header files installed.

(Note that I do have libgmp3-dev installed.)

Looking in config.log, it's the compilation of the "Hello world" proglet that is failing:

. . . configure:2456: /usr/bin/ghc -o conftest conftest.hs <command line>: unknown package: haskell98 configure:2459: $? = 1 configure: failed program was: main = putStr "Hello world!\n" -- this file generated by TRY-COMPILE-GHC end of failed program. configure:2468: result: no configure:2474: error: Your installation of ghc does not appear to work.

[AndyL]

config.log output from ./configure

[dons]

Looks like a distro package problem. Try updating the version of GHC on your system.

[MtnViewMark]

closing as very old and now out-of-date versions -- please reopen if problem is reproducible on current systems and platforms.