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* [Caml-list] Alternative proposal: COAN
@ 2003-02-24 16:54 Benjamin C. Pierce
  2003-02-24 18:24 ` Chris Hecker
  2003-02-24 20:17 ` Francois Rouaix
  0 siblings, 2 replies; 54+ messages in thread
From: Benjamin C. Pierce @ 2003-02-24 16:54 UTC (permalink / raw)
  To: caml-list

Although I share the impulse behind the recent discussions about
improving the standard library, I wonder if it is actually missing the
main point: there are *already* lots of improvements on the standard
library out there -- the Unison project has one; probably there are at
least a dozen better ones out there -- but nobody can find them!  This
leads to an idea for a different way of soaking up people's hacking
energies...  :-)

The single thing that I think would make the biggest difference for the
OCaml community is a central repository for OCaml source code --
something analogous to the CPAN archive for PERL modules.  I'm aware of
all the thorny problems involved in really doing something like this
"right" for OCaml, but frankly I'd rather have something simple and
useful, now, than the right thing, someday.  The CDK was an impressive
attempt to do the right thing, but it was too ambitious and sank under
its own weight.

The minimal functionality that seems needed is something like this:
   - a single repository (on somebody's web server, or maybe SourceForge)
     where stuff lives 
   - an easy way for authors to upload stuff to the repository (and to
     re-upload new versions of their stuff)
   - an easy way for users to browse and download stuff
   - some way (at least informal) to indicate dependencies between one
     thing and another in the repository

Of course, much more functionality could be imagined and wished for
(e.g., a machine-readable representation of dependencies, provisions for
mutiple versions, standard installation procedures, documentation
standards, etc., etc.), but all that can be added later, in light of
experience.  For now, let's let a thousand flowers bloom... and just
encourage them to bloom in the same garden!

    - Benjamin

-----------------------------------------------------------------------------
BENJAMIN C. PIERCE, Professor
Dept. of Computer & Information Science                bcpierce@cis.upenn.edu
University of Pennsylvania                                    +1 215 898-2012
200 South 33rd St.                                       Fax: +1 215 898-0587
Philadelphia, PA 19104, USA                http://www.cis.upenn.edu/~bcpierce
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^ permalink raw reply	[flat|nested] 54+ messages in thread
* Re: [Caml-list] Alternative proposal: COAN
@ 2003-02-26 18:42 Jeff Bowden
  0 siblings, 0 replies; 54+ messages in thread
From: Jeff Bowden @ 2003-02-26 18:42 UTC (permalink / raw)
  To: caml-list

>
>
>      But, wait, after all, this is pretty similar to what is done by apt in the Debian
>      linux distribution! Probably one should have a look at apt as a starting
>      point. I would be interested to have the feelings of the various
>      people here that do Debian packages on the suitability of the apt tools to
>      handle this kind of issues in the Ocaml world.
>  
>


This may be of interest: http://www.cliki.net/cclan
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^ permalink raw reply	[flat|nested] 54+ messages in thread

end of thread, other threads:[~2003-03-03  9:37 UTC | newest]

Thread overview: 54+ messages (download: mbox.gz / follow: Atom feed)
-- links below jump to the message on this page --
2003-02-24 16:54 [Caml-list] Alternative proposal: COAN Benjamin C. Pierce
2003-02-24 18:24 ` Chris Hecker
2003-02-24 20:17 ` Francois Rouaix
2003-02-24 20:28   ` Basile STARYNKEVITCH
2003-02-24 21:03   ` Brian Hurt
2003-02-24 21:10     ` Brian Hurt
2003-02-24 21:22       ` Benjamin C. Pierce
2003-02-25 10:54     ` roberto
2003-02-25 13:20       ` Sven Luther
2003-02-25 13:36         ` roberto
2003-02-25 16:07           ` Sven Luther
2003-02-25 14:17       ` MikhailFedotov
2003-02-25 17:15       ` Eric C. Cooper
2003-02-25 21:48         ` Michal Moskal
2003-02-25 22:14           ` Lauri Alanko
2003-02-26 14:06             ` Sven Luther
2003-02-27  8:05             ` Blair Zajac
2003-02-27  8:29             ` Xavier Leroy
2003-02-23 16:51               ` Chet Murthy
2003-02-27 15:39               ` [Caml-list] hierarchical modules John Carr
2003-03-01 18:09                 ` [Caml-list] " Xavier Leroy
2003-03-01 18:18                   ` Michal Moskal
2003-03-02 15:58                     ` Xavier Leroy
2003-02-25 22:59           ` [Caml-list] Alternative proposal: COAN Sven Luther
2003-02-26  9:47             ` Michal Moskal
2003-02-26 10:11               ` Sven Luther
2003-02-26 10:26                 ` Michal Moskal
2003-02-26 11:53                   ` Sven Luther
2003-02-26 10:35                 ` Olivier Andrieu
2003-02-26 12:03                   ` Sven Luther
2003-02-27  3:19                   ` Nicolas Cannasse
2003-02-23 15:05                     ` Chet Murthy
2003-02-27  4:54                       ` Nicolas Cannasse
2003-02-23 16:13                         ` Chet Murthy
2003-02-27  9:20                           ` Sven Luther
2003-02-27 10:39                         ` Damien Doligez
2003-02-28  9:20       ` Jacques Garrigue
2003-02-28 10:53         ` Sven Luther
2003-02-28 12:28         ` Jean-Christophe Filliatre
2003-02-28 13:08           ` Markus Mottl
2003-02-28 13:27             ` Sven Luther
2003-02-28 14:05               ` Jean-Christophe Filliatre
2003-02-28 14:43                 ` Sven Luther
2003-02-28 15:58                   ` Benjamin C. Pierce
2003-03-01 18:03                 ` Michal Moskal
2003-03-01  8:14         ` Blair Zajac
2003-03-02 18:21         ` Xavier Leroy
2003-03-02 20:09           ` Sven Luther
2003-03-02 21:38           ` Doug Bagley
2003-03-03  2:39         ` Nicolas Cannasse
2003-03-03  9:07           ` Sven Luther
2003-03-03  9:24             ` Nicolas Cannasse
2003-03-03  9:37               ` Sven Luther
2003-02-26 18:42 Jeff Bowden

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