Re: [Caml-list] What is a future of ocaml?

[Dario Teixeira <darioteixeira@yahoo.com>]

Hi,

> I understand that there's no manpower to push the core
> compiler forward faster. But it would be a solace to know
> that there are at least some optimistic plans with a broader
> horizon.

Speaking of which, there's something that's been on my mind for quite
some time: what's the holdup preventing INRIA from having more manpower
dedicated to Ocaml?  The language already has a sizable community, a
fair industrial usage, and a visible presence among the academia.  I'm
sure that given the language advantages that we all know, if it had
more widespread usage there would be a positive multiplier effect on the
French economy and beyond (think of productivity losses resulting
from crappy language choices).  Should we write a letter to monsieur
le président telling him that a well-supported Ocaml language would
do a lot more "pour la gloire de la France" than supermodel wives?


> Is there any hope for a grand 'OCaml 4' release that would iron out
> the last ugly spots left in the language with some breaking changes?

Backwards compatibility is overrated in an open-source environment.
However, to avoid alienating users with large code bases in legacy
code, the best solution would be to keep 3.x being updated for bugfixes
for the foreseeable future (would that require all that much manpower?),
while simultaneously developing a version 4.0 not hindered by backwards
compatibility.

Cheers,
Dario Teixeira