From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Return-Path: X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.1.3 (2006-06-01) on yquem.inria.fr X-Spam-Level: X-Spam-Status: No, score=0.0 required=5.0 tests=none autolearn=disabled version=3.1.3 X-Original-To: caml-list@yquem.inria.fr Delivered-To: caml-list@yquem.inria.fr Received: from discorde.inria.fr (discorde.inria.fr [192.93.2.38]) by yquem.inria.fr (Postfix) with ESMTP id A93ECBC69 for ; Fri, 9 Mar 2007 01:04:14 +0100 (CET) Received: from ipmail03.adl2.internode.on.net (ipmail03.adl2.internode.on.net [203.16.214.135]) by discorde.inria.fr (8.13.6/8.13.6) with ESMTP id l2904CXN010806 for ; Fri, 9 Mar 2007 01:04:13 +0100 Received: from ppp19-103.lns2.syd7.internode.on.net (HELO [192.168.1.201]) ([59.167.19.103]) by ipmail03.adl2.internode.on.net with ESMTP; 09 Mar 2007 10:34:10 +1030 X-IronPort-AV: i="4.14,264,1170595800"; d="scan'208"; a="60075402:sNHT24864931" Subject: RE: [Caml-list] Interactive technical computing From: skaller To: Robert Fischer Cc: caml-list@inria.fr In-Reply-To: <3D1E4D9CA9BCE04D8F2B55F203AE4CE30666AB7C@selma.roomandboard.com> References: <3D1E4D9CA9BCE04D8F2B55F203AE4CE30666AB7C@selma.roomandboard.com> Content-Type: text/plain Date: Fri, 09 Mar 2007 11:04:06 +1100 Message-Id: <1173398646.6613.56.camel@rosella.wigram> Mime-Version: 1.0 X-Mailer: Evolution 2.8.1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Miltered: at discorde with ID 45F0A47C.000 by Joe's j-chkmail (http://j-chkmail . ensmp . fr)! X-Spam: no; 0.00; ocamlopt:01 ocaml:01 distros:01 model:01 bytecode:01 linkable:01 bytecode:01 sourceforge:01 wrote:01 dynamically:01 compile:01 caml-list:01 binary:01 precisely:01 dll:03 On Thu, 2007-03-08 at 15:26 -0600, Robert Fischer wrote: > > Putting aside the obvious cultural resistance to using a sensible > > language for this project, there is one technical hurdle: It needs to > > compile into a DLL which can be linked to other programs (in C and > > other languages). I can't generate such code using ocamlopt, at least > > not without using unsupported out-of-tree extensions. > > > I don't think this is a real hurdle to general adoption of a language. It is in fact an utter and complete show stopper. I've spent 6 years developing Felix precisely to solve this problem: a high level language that can generate shared libraries which can use and be used by other shared libraries. Ocaml is great for stand-alone programs but a significant fraction of software development is library building, and Linux distros such as those based on Debian provide a library component model which demands dynamic linkage so the components can be upgraded without end user recompilation. I expect this will eventually be solved too. > After all, Java and C# aren't intended to be used like that, yet they > certainly have wide-spread adoption. They don't make binary shared libraries because the architecture is a virtual machine driven by bytecode .. they DO make dynamically linkable bytecode libraries. -- John Skaller Felix, successor to C++: http://felix.sf.net