diff --git a/pkgs/development/compilers/ghc-wrapper/builder.sh b/pkgs/development/compilers/ghc-wrapper/builder.sh
deleted file mode 100644
index 9851f9b2b1b..00000000000
--- a/pkgs/development/compilers/ghc-wrapper/builder.sh
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,34 +0,0 @@
-source $stdenv/setup
-
-export HOME=$(pwd)/fake-home
-
-makeWrapper() {
-  wrapperBase="$1"
-  wrapperName="$2"
-  wrapper="$out/$wrapperName"
-  shift; shift #the other arguments are passed to the source app
-  echo '#!'"$SHELL" > "$wrapper"
-  echo "exec \"$wrapperBase/$wrapperName\" $@" '"$@"' > "$wrapper"
-  chmod +x "$wrapper"
-}
-
-mkdir -p $out/nix-support $out/bin
-packages_db=$out/nix-support/package.conf
-
-#create packages database (start with compiler base packages)
-cp $ghc/lib/ghc-*/package.conf $packages_db
-chmod +w $packages_db
-for lib in $libraries; do
-  sh $lib/nix-support/register.sh $packages_db || exit 1
-done
-rm -f $packages_db.old
-
-#create the wrappers 
-#NB: The double dash for ghc-pkg is not a typo!
-makeWrapper $ghc "bin/ghc"         "-package-conf"  $packages_db
-makeWrapper $ghc "bin/ghci"        "-package-conf"  $packages_db
-makeWrapper $ghc "bin/runghc"      "-package-conf"  $packages_db
-makeWrapper $ghc "bin/runhaskell"  "-package-conf"  $packages_db
-makeWrapper $ghc "bin/ghc-pkg"     "--global-conf"  $packages_db
-
-# todo: link all other binaries of ghc
diff --git a/pkgs/development/compilers/ghc-wrapper/default.nix b/pkgs/development/compilers/ghc-wrapper/default.nix
deleted file mode 100644
index 8c35db926b6..00000000000
--- a/pkgs/development/compilers/ghc-wrapper/default.nix
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,7 +0,0 @@
-{stdenv, ghc, libraries}:
-
-stdenv.mkDerivation {
-  inherit (ghc) name meta;
-  inherit ghc libraries;
-  builder = ./builder.sh;
-}
diff --git a/pkgs/development/compilers/ghc/boot610.nix b/pkgs/development/compilers/ghc/6.10.2-binary.nix
similarity index 51%
rename from pkgs/development/compilers/ghc/boot610.nix
rename to pkgs/development/compilers/ghc/6.10.2-binary.nix
index 7cfafaa13e8..0806c5b3dc9 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/compilers/ghc/boot610.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/compilers/ghc/6.10.2-binary.nix
@@ -1,22 +1,22 @@
-{stdenv, fetchurl, perl, editline, ncurses, gmp, makeWrapper}:
+{stdenv, fetchurl, perl, libedit, ncurses, gmp, makeWrapper}:
 
 stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
-  version = "6.10.1";
+  version = "6.10.2-binary";
 
   name = "ghc-${version}";
 
   src =
     if stdenv.system == "i686-linux" then
       fetchurl {
-        # libedit .so.0
+        # This binary requires libedit.so.0 (rather than libedit.so.2).
         url = "http://haskell.org/ghc/dist/${version}/ghc-${version}-i386-unknown-linux.tar.bz2";
-        sha256 = "18l0vwlf7y86s65klpdvz4ccp8kydvcmyh03c86hld8jvx16q7zz";
+        sha256 = "1fw0zr2qshlpk8s0d16k27zcv5263nqdg2xds5ymw8ff6qz9rz9b";
       }
     else if stdenv.system == "x86_64-linux" then
       fetchurl {
-        # libedit .so.0
+        # Idem.
         url = "http://haskell.org/ghc/dist/${version}/ghc-${version}-x86_64-unknown-linux.tar.bz2";
-        sha256 = "14jvvn333i36wm7mmvi47jr93f5hxrw1h2dpjvqql0rp00svhzzg";
+        sha256 = "1rd2j7lmcfsm2rdfb5g6q0l8dz3sxadk5m3d2f69d4a6g4p4h7jj";
       }
     else if stdenv.system == "i686-darwin" then
       fetchurl {
@@ -45,7 +45,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
     (if stdenv.isLinux then ''
       find . -type f -perm +100 \
           -exec patchelf --interpreter "$(cat $NIX_GCC/nix-support/dynamic-linker)" \
-          --set-rpath "${editline}/lib:${ncurses}/lib:${gmp}/lib" {} \;
+          --set-rpath "${libedit}/lib:${ncurses}/lib:${gmp}/lib" {} \;
       for prog in ld ar gcc strip ranlib; do
         find . -name "setup-config" -exec sed -i "s@/usr/bin/$prog@$(type -p $prog)@g" {} \;
       done
@@ -61,46 +61,46 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation rec {
 
   # No building is necessary, but calling make without flags ironically
   # calls install-strip ...
-  buildPhase = ":";
+  buildPhase = "true";
 
   # The binaries for Darwin use frameworks, so fake those frameworks,
   # and create some wrapper scripts that set DYLD_FRAMEWORK_PATH so
   # that the executables work with no special setup.
-  postInstall = (if stdenv.isDarwin then "
+  postInstall =
+    (if stdenv.isDarwin then
+      ''
+        ensureDir $out/frameworks/GMP.framework/Versions/A
+        ln -s ${gmp}/lib/libgmp.dylib $out/frameworks/GMP.framework/GMP
+        ln -s ${gmp}/lib/libgmp.dylib $out/frameworks/GMP.framework/Versions/A/GMP
+        # !!! fix this
+        ensureDir $out/frameworks/GNUeditline.framework/Versions/A
+        ln -s ${libedit}/lib/libeditline.dylib $out/frameworks/GNUeditline.framework/GNUeditline
+        ln -s ${libedit}/lib/libeditline.dylib $out/frameworks/GNUeditline.framework/Versions/A/GNUeditline
 
-    ensureDir $out/frameworks/GMP.framework/Versions/A
-    ln -s ${gmp}/lib/libgmp.dylib $out/frameworks/GMP.framework/GMP
-    ln -s ${gmp}/lib/libgmp.dylib $out/frameworks/GMP.framework/Versions/A/GMP
-    ensureDir $out/frameworks/GNUeditline.framework/Versions/A
-    ln -s ${editline}/lib/libeditline.dylib $out/frameworks/GNUeditline.framework/GNUeditline
-    ln -s ${editline}/lib/libeditline.dylib $out/frameworks/GNUeditline.framework/Versions/A/GNUeditline
+        mv $out/bin $out/bin-orig
+        mkdir $out/bin
+        for i in $(cd $out/bin-orig && ls); do
+            echo \"#! $SHELL -e\" >> $out/bin/$i
+            echo \"DYLD_FRAMEWORK_PATH=$out/frameworks exec $out/bin-orig/$i -framework-path $out/frameworks \\\"\\$@\\\"\" >> $out/bin/$i
+            chmod +x $out/bin/$i
+        done
+      '' else "")
+    +
+      ''
+        # bah, the passing gmp doesn't work, so let's add it to the final package.conf in a quick but dirty way
+        sed -i "s@^\(.*pkgName = PackageName \"rts\".*\libraryDirs = \\[\)\(.*\)@\\1\"${gmp}/lib\",\2@" $out/lib/ghc-${version}/package.conf
 
-    mv $out/bin $out/bin-orig
-    mkdir $out/bin
-    for i in $(cd $out/bin-orig && ls); do
-        echo \"#! $SHELL -e\" >> $out/bin/$i
-        echo \"DYLD_FRAMEWORK_PATH=$out/frameworks exec $out/bin-orig/$i -framework-path $out/frameworks \\\"\\$@\\\"\" >> $out/bin/$i
-        chmod +x $out/bin/$i
-    done
-
-  " else "")
-  +
-  ''
-  # bah, the passing gmp doesn't work, so let's add it to the final package.conf in a quick but dirty way
-  sed -i "s@^\(.*pkgName = PackageName \"rts\".*\libraryDirs = \\[\)\(.*\)@\\1\"${gmp}/lib\",\2@" $out/lib/ghc-${version}/package.conf
-
-  wrapProgram $out/bin/ghc --set LDPATH "${gmp}/lib"
-  # sanity check, can ghc create executables?
-  cd $TMP
-  mkdir test-ghc; cd test-ghc
-  cat > main.hs << EOF
-  module Main where
-  main = putStrLn "yes"
-  EOF
-  $out/bin/ghc --make main.hs
-  echo compilation ok
-  [ $(./main) == "yes" ]
-  ''
-  ;
+        wrapProgram $out/bin/ghc --set LDPATH "${gmp}/lib"
+        # sanity check, can ghc create executables?
+        cd $TMP
+        mkdir test-ghc; cd test-ghc
+        cat > main.hs << EOF
+          module Main where
+          main = putStrLn "yes"
+        EOF
+        $out/bin/ghc --make main.hs
+        echo compilation ok
+        [ $(./main) == "yes" ]
+      '';
 
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/development/compilers/ghc/boot.nix b/pkgs/development/compilers/ghc/6.4.2-binary.nix
similarity index 78%
rename from pkgs/development/compilers/ghc/boot.nix
rename to pkgs/development/compilers/ghc/6.4.2-binary.nix
index 60664374b8e..31777244521 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/compilers/ghc/boot.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/compilers/ghc/6.4.2-binary.nix
@@ -1,7 +1,7 @@
 {stdenv, fetchurl, perl, readline, ncurses, gmp}:
 
 stdenv.mkDerivation {
-  name = if stdenv.system == "i686-darwin" then "ghc-6.6.1" else "ghc-6.4.2";
+  name = if stdenv.system == "i686-darwin" then "ghc-6.6.1-binary" else "ghc-6.4.2-binary";
 
   src =
     if stdenv.system == "i686-linux" then
@@ -15,6 +15,9 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
         md5 = "8f5fe48798f715cd05214a10987bf6d5";
       }
     else if stdenv.system == "i686-darwin" then
+      /* Yes, this isn't GHC 6.4.2.  But IIRC either there was no
+         6.4.2 binary for Darwin, or it didn't work.  In any case, in
+         Nixpkgs we just need this bootstrapping a "real" GHC. */
       fetchurl {
         url = http://www.haskell.org/ghc/dist/6.6.1/ghc-6.6.1-i386-apple-darwin.tar.bz2;
         sha256 = "1drbsicanr6jlykvs4vs6gbi2q9ac1bcaxz2vzwh3pfv3lfibwia";
@@ -38,7 +41,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
   # The binaries for Darwin use frameworks, so fake those frameworks,
   # and create some wrapper scripts that set DYLD_FRAMEWORK_PATH so
   # that the executables work with no special setup.
-  postInstall = if stdenv.isDarwin then "
+  postInstall = if stdenv.isDarwin then ''
 
     ensureDir $out/frameworks/GMP.framework/Versions/A
     ln -s ${gmp}/lib/libgmp.dylib $out/frameworks/GMP.framework/GMP
@@ -50,13 +53,13 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation {
     mkdir $out/bin-orig
     for i in $(cd $out/bin && ls *); do
         mv $out/bin/$i $out/bin-orig/$i
-        echo \"#! $SHELL -e\" >> $out/bin/$i
+        echo "#! $SHELL -e" >> $out/bin/$i
         extraFlag=
-        if test $i != ghc-pkg; then extraFlag=\"-framework-path $out/frameworks\"; fi
-        echo \"DYLD_FRAMEWORK_PATH=$out/frameworks exec $out/bin-orig/$i $extraFlag \\\"\\$@\\\"\" >> $out/bin/$i
+        if test $i != ghc-pkg; then extraFlag="-framework-path $out/frameworks"; fi
+        echo "DYLD_FRAMEWORK_PATH=$out/frameworks exec $out/bin-orig/$i $extraFlag \"\$@\"" >> $out/bin/$i
         chmod +x $out/bin/$i
     done
 
-  " else "";
+  '' else "";
 
 }
diff --git a/pkgs/development/compilers/ghc/6.8.2.nix b/pkgs/development/compilers/ghc/6.8.2.nix
index 2bcd88dc2fe..4015d364b27 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/compilers/ghc/6.8.2.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/compilers/ghc/6.8.2.nix
@@ -24,14 +24,11 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation (rec {
     "--with-gmp-libraries=${gmp}/lib"
     "--with-gmp-includes=${gmp}/include"
     "--with-readline-libraries=${readline}/lib"
-    "--with-gcc=${gcc}/bin/gcc"
+    "--with-gcc=${stdenv.gcc}/bin/gcc"
   ];
 
   preConfigure = "
     # still requires a hack for ncurses
     sed -i \"s|^\\\(ld-options.*$\\\)|\\\1 -L${ncurses}/lib|\" libraries/readline/readline.buildinfo.in
   ";
-
-  inherit (stdenv) gcc;
-  inherit readline gmp ncurses;
 })
diff --git a/pkgs/development/compilers/ghc/6.8.3.nix b/pkgs/development/compilers/ghc/6.8.3.nix
index 07369ddc6f5..d9f3c1760a1 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/compilers/ghc/6.8.3.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/compilers/ghc/6.8.3.nix
@@ -23,7 +23,7 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation (rec {
     "--with-gmp-libraries=${gmp}/lib"
     "--with-gmp-includes=${gmp}/include"
     "--with-readline-libraries=${readline}/lib"
-    "--with-gcc=${gcc}/bin/gcc"
+    "--with-gcc=${stdenv.gcc}/bin/gcc"
   ];
 
   preConfigure = ''
@@ -34,7 +34,4 @@ stdenv.mkDerivation (rec {
   '';
 
   installTargets = ["install" "install-docs"];
-
-  inherit (stdenv) gcc;
-  inherit readline gmp ncurses;
 })
diff --git a/pkgs/development/interpreters/io/default.nix b/pkgs/development/interpreters/io/default.nix
index 4d737fe7065..2ba7c5fb697 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/interpreters/io/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/interpreters/io/default.nix
@@ -9,7 +9,7 @@ let
   buildInputs = with args; [
     zlib sqlite gmp libffi cairo ncurses freetype mesa
     libpng libtiff libjpeg readline libsndfile libxml2
-    freeglut e2fsprogs libsamplerate pcre libevent editline
+    freeglut e2fsprogs libsamplerate pcre libevent libedit
   ];
 in
 rec {
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/editline/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/editline/default.nix
deleted file mode 100644
index ef1ade22289..00000000000
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/editline/default.nix
+++ /dev/null
@@ -1,10 +0,0 @@
-{ stdenv, fetchurl, ncurses }:
-
-stdenv.mkDerivation {
-  name = "editline-2.11";
-  src = fetchurl {
-    url = http://www.thrysoee.dk/editline/libedit-20080712-2.11.tar.gz;
-    sha256 = "6ff51a15d1ada16c44be0f32a539b492cd3b0286c3dfa413915525f55851d1e6";
-  };
-  propagatedBuildInputs = [ ncurses ];
-}
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/haskell/editline/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/haskell/editline/default.nix
index 58c700921aa..f3dfa9f6655 100644
--- a/pkgs/development/libraries/haskell/editline/default.nix
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/haskell/editline/default.nix
@@ -1,10 +1,10 @@
-{ cabal, editline } :
+{ cabal, libedit } :
 
 cabal.mkDerivation (self : {
   pname = "editline";
   version = "0.2";
   sha256 = "6ee0b553cc8d7542c096730ceebabdcb9b2951d7b00a5a0ddbf47b5436a77ce4";
-  propagatedBuildInputs = [ editline ];
+  propagatedBuildInputs = [ libedit ];
   patchLibFiles = [ "editline.buildinfo.in" ];
   preConfigure = ''
     sed -i -e '/el_get/d' include/HsEditline.h
diff --git a/pkgs/development/libraries/libedit/default.nix b/pkgs/development/libraries/libedit/default.nix
new file mode 100644
index 00000000000..622d6e21c97
--- /dev/null
+++ b/pkgs/development/libraries/libedit/default.nix
@@ -0,0 +1,17 @@
+{ stdenv, fetchurl, ncurses }:
+
+stdenv.mkDerivation {
+  name = "libedit-20090405-3.0";
+  
+  src = fetchurl {
+    url = http://www.thrysoee.dk/editline/libedit-20090405-3.0.tar.gz;
+    sha256 = "1il68apydk6nnm30v8gn61vbi23ii571bixp7662j96xsivy7z5l";
+  };
+  
+  propagatedBuildInputs = [ ncurses ];
+
+  meta = {
+    homepage = "http://www.thrysoee.dk/editline/";
+    description = "A port of the NetBSD Editline library (libedit)";
+  };
+}
diff --git a/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix b/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix
index 7378f2741ae..2e0826fb62a 100644
--- a/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix
+++ b/pkgs/top-level/all-packages.nix
@@ -1705,7 +1705,8 @@ let
   ghcsAndLibs =
     assert builtins ? listToAttrs;
     recurseIntoAttrs (import ../development/compilers/ghcs {
-      inherit ghcboot fetchurl stdenv recurseIntoAttrs perl gnum4 gmp readline lib;
+      ghcboot = ghc642Binary;
+      inherit fetchurl stdenv recurseIntoAttrs perl gnum4 gmp readline lib;
       inherit ghcPkgUtil ctags autoconf automake getConfig;
       inherit (ghc68executables) hasktags;
       inherit (bleedingEdgeRepos) sourceByName;
@@ -1835,36 +1836,42 @@ let
 
   ghc682 = import ../development/compilers/ghc/6.8.2.nix {
     inherit fetchurl stdenv readline perl gmp ncurses m4;
-    ghc = ghcboot;
+    ghc = ghc642Binary;
   };
 
   ghc683 = import ../development/compilers/ghc/6.8.3.nix {
     inherit fetchurl stdenv readline perl gmp ncurses m4;
-    ghc = ghcboot;
-    haddock = haddockboot;
+    ghc = ghc642Binary;
+    haddock = import ../development/tools/documentation/haddock/boot.nix {
+      inherit gmp;
+      cabal = import ../development/libraries/haskell/cabal/cabal.nix {
+        inherit stdenv fetchurl;
+        ghc = ghc642Binary;
+      };
+    };
   };
 
   ghc661 = import ../development/compilers/ghc/6.6.1.nix {
     inherit fetchurl stdenv readline perl58 gmp ncurses m4;
-    ghc = ghcboot;
+    ghc = ghc642Binary;
   };
 
-  ghc64 = import ../development/compilers/ghc/6.4.2.nix {
+  ghc642 = import ../development/compilers/ghc/6.4.2.nix {
     inherit fetchurl stdenv perl ncurses readline m4 gmp;
-    ghc = ghcboot;
+    ghc = ghc642Binary;
   };
 
-  ghcboot = lowPrio (appendToName "boot" (import ../development/compilers/ghc/boot.nix {
+  ghc642Binary = lowPrio (import ../development/compilers/ghc/6.4.2-binary.nix {
     inherit fetchurl stdenv ncurses gmp;
     readline = if stdenv.system == "i686-linux" then readline4 else readline;
     perl = perl58;
-  }));
+  });
 
-  ghcboot610 = lowPrio (appendToName "boot" (import ../development/compilers/ghc/boot610.nix {
-    inherit fetchurl stdenv ncurses gmp editline makeWrapper;
+  ghc6103Binary = lowPrio (import ../development/compilers/ghc/6.10.2-binary.nix {
+    inherit fetchurl stdenv ncurses gmp libedit makeWrapper;
     # readline = if stdenv.system == "i686-linux" then readline4 else readline;
     perl = perl58;
-  }));
+  });
 
   gprolog = import ../development/compilers/gprolog {
     inherit fetchurl stdenv;
@@ -2103,7 +2110,7 @@ let
   io = builderDefsPackage (import ../development/interpreters/io) {
     inherit sqlite zlib gmp libffi cairo ncurses freetype mesa
       libpng libtiff libjpeg readline libsndfile libxml2
-      freeglut e2fsprogs libsamplerate pcre libevent editline;
+      freeglut e2fsprogs libsamplerate pcre libevent libedit;
   };
 
   kaffe =  import ../development/interpreters/kaffe {
@@ -2497,12 +2504,6 @@ let
     inherit fetchurl stdenv;
   };
 
-  # used to bootstrap ghc with
-  haddockboot = lowPrio (appendToName "boot" (import ../development/tools/documentation/haddock/boot.nix {
-    inherit gmp;
-    cabal = cabalboot;
-  }));
-
   # old version of haddock, still more stable than 2.0
   haddock09 = import ../development/tools/documentation/haddock/haddock-0.9.nix {
     inherit cabal;
@@ -2915,10 +2916,6 @@ let
     inherit fetchurl stdenv perl;
   };
 
-  editline = import ../development/libraries/editline {
-    inherit fetchurl stdenv ncurses;
-  };
-
   enchant = selectVersion ../development/libraries/enchant "1.3.0" {
     inherit fetchurl stdenv aspell pkgconfig;
     inherit (gnome) glib;
@@ -3396,6 +3393,10 @@ let
     inherit fetchurl stdenv libdvdcss;
   };
 
+  libedit = import ../development/libraries/libedit {
+    inherit fetchurl stdenv ncurses;
+  };
+
   libevent = import ../development/libraries/libevent {
     inherit fetchurl stdenv;
   };
@@ -4195,11 +4196,6 @@ let
     ghc = ghc683;
   };
 
-  cabalboot = import ../development/libraries/haskell/cabal/cabal.nix {
-    inherit stdenv fetchurl;
-    ghc = ghcboot;
-  };
-
   cabal = cabal683;
 
   Crypto = import ../development/libraries/haskell/Crypto {
@@ -4224,7 +4220,7 @@ let
   };
 
   haskellEditline = import ../development/libraries/haskell/editline {
-    inherit cabal editline;
+    inherit cabal libedit;
   };
 
   HDBC = import ../development/libraries/haskell/HDBC/HDBC-1.1.4.nix {