id	summary	reporter	owner	description	type	status	priority	milestone	component	version	resolution	keywords	cc	os	architecture	failure	difficulty	testcase	blockedby	blocking	related
3541	Allow local foreign imports	mokus		"I have no idea the level of difficulty this would entail, but it would be rather nice to be able to import foreign functions at scopes other than the top level.  When writing glue code, especially for C++ where I often want to catch and haskellize exceptions, I find myself using wrappers quite a bit, for example:

{{{
foreign import ccall ""foo.h foo"" 
    raw_foo :: CString -> IO ()
foo :: String -> IO ()
foo s = withCString s raw_foo
}}}

Where I only want ""foo"" exported from the module.  It's not that big a deal to list explicit exports, I know, but I would like to be able to say instead:

{{{
foo :: String -> IO ()
foo s = withCString s raw_foo
    where
        foreign import ccall ""foo.h foo"" raw_foo :: CString -> IO ()
}}}

In addition to reducing clutter in the top level namespace, it makes for less clutter on the left margin of the code, making it easier to scan through function names visually."	feature request	new	normal	_|_	Compiler (FFI)	6.10.4				Unknown/Multiple	Unknown/Multiple		Moderate (less than a day)