[ocaml-platform] The OCaml Platform

[Yaron Minsky]

On Mon, Feb 11, 2013 at 3:02 PM, Sylvain Le Gall
<sylvain+ocaml at le-gall.net> wrote:
> 2013/2/11 Amir Chaudhry <amc79 at cam.ac.uk>:
>> Dear Platform list,
>>
>> Welcome to those who've joined the list.  Here are some additional notes about the Platform.
>>
>> ## About the Platform ##
>>
>> The OCaml Platform combines the core OCaml compiler with a coherent
>> set of libraries, tools, docs and other resources.  It is a project
>> led by OCaml Labs in Cambridge, UK and the requirements and
>> direction of the Platform will be guided by the major stakeholders.
>> We've already spoken with Jane Street and Citrix, and intend to
>> work closely with other Consortium members too.
>>
>> It is envisaged that the Platform will initially bundle OCaml 4.01
>> together with a specific set of libraries.  Package management,
>> continuous integration and support for external libraries will be
>> provided by OPAM (see below).  The other components of v0.1 will be
>> settled on through discussion with the major stakeholders and on
>> this list.  Since components will need to work well with each
>> other, they should not be too numerous at first, and authors should
>> be aware that some future work might be required as the Platform
>> develops.
>
> Does it mean they will have to provide interfaces with e.g. monads of
> core? (which will probably make everything depends on Core) Or do you
> think we will try to have some kind of higher level requirement, like
> to have at least a 3rd party module that can integrate?

Core is designed to interoperate with other OCaml libraries.
Obviously, I like the conventions of Core and would like to encourage
people to use them.  But I haven't heard anyone propose any kind of
draconian rule to require following Core's interface standards.

> E.g. considering one of my library "fileutils", does it mean I have to
> make fileutils depends on Core or should I just provide a method
> "next" to iterate over the results of "ls"?
>
>> We plan to develop compiler enhancements to assist the development
>> of software using the Platform -- for example, some variety of
>> namespaces would likely provide benefits when using lots of
>> modules.  These projects will be discussed individually in groups
>> headed by experts.
>>
>
> Does it mean included libraries/tools will have to use this specific
> enhancements?

Speaking for no one but myself, I think that if we get a good
namespace system for OCaml, we should probably require that libraries
in the platform use it.  Agreeing on partitioning names seems like a
fundamental bit of work that a platform requires.

I would think that there are other things that one would want to
require, like good use of documentation facilities.

>> ## Platform availability ##
>>
>> We aim for the Platform to be available via other distributions,
>> e.g. Debian, which necessitates binary packages.  Documentation of
>> the included libraries will also be important (see below) and
>> should aid standardisation.
>
> I think we should be more precise on this:
> 1. target stable distribution of linux Distro (e.g. Debian Stable) at
> the time of the release
> 2. will not aim at being officially part of the Distro (i.e. not try
> to have an "ocamlot" package inside Debian)
> 3. will not interfere with the official package coming from the
> distribution (e.g. you can install "ocaml" and
> "libfileutils-ocaml-dev" AND "ocamlot" on the same computer).
>
> Point 2. is quite important, because it is clearly an opportunity to
> provide a working dev env to people using Debian Stable and that want
> to have the latest greatest packages (whereas in Debian, you'll
> probably lagging a bit in term of "latest").
>
>>
>> ## Documentation ##
>>
>> As part of the platform efforts we aim to improve the documentation
>> generation of OCaml tools.  The aim is to support the OCaml
>> Platform with fully cross-referenced documentation from source
>> code, including the ability to incorporate interactive tutorials
>> using the js_of_ocaml compiler.  This would also be combined with a
>> single cross-referenced website.
>>
>> ## Testing and benchmarking ##
>>
>> A continuous integration framework, based on OPAM, will form part
>> of the Platform infrastructure.  We're calling this infrastructure
>> "OCamlot". OPAM packages can be automatically tested upon
>> submission and reports sent back to maintainers.  OCamlot will
>> execute basic unit tests and also, in later versions, integrate
>> benchmarking.  The build infrastructure is intended to run tests on
>> the full range of community packages in OPAM by using secure
>> virtualization under Citrix XenServer.  If you submit a package,
>> you will be rewarded with regular regression tests across many
>> diverse operating systems and platforms.
>>
>> ## Releases and updates ##
>>
>> Upon the first release of the Platform, updates and improvements will form a six-monthly cycle.
>>
>
> I propose to have some kind of "moral contract" with upstream, that
> will need to backport important patches to the current version of
> "ocamlot".
>
>
> Regards
> Sylvain
>
>> Best wishes,
>> Amir
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