In part, that's right. For example, there is an extension called "rank-n" types where global type inference is provably impossible. But even in Haskell 98, type

In part, that's right. For example, there is an extension called "rank-n" types where global type inference is provably impossible. But even in Haskell 98, type classes often create ambiguities that mean the compiler doesn't know what code to generate, as in the example I gave with show (read "1") You fix these with annotations. I couldn't say why Ocaml's Emacs mode is so much better. Merlin was a game changer for me, and I've never had issues getting it to work. ghc-mod is the equivalent in Ocaml, but I've never managed to get that to work.