[ocaml-platform] The OCaml Platform

[Sylvain Le Gall]

2013/2/11 Yaron Minsky <yminsky at janestreet.com>:
> 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.
>

No offense meant, this was just an example. I would be glad to provide
a 3rd party library that interface with core, but would like to not
put it as a build dependencies of the initial library.

E.g:
- fileutils -> the standard library
- fileutils-core -> the interface to core.
- fileutils-batteries, fileutils-lwt -> the interfaces to batteries and  lwt

>> 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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>>> Platform at lists.ocaml.org
>>> http://lists.ocaml.org/listinfo/platform
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