Re: [Caml-list] Interface(.mli) location

[moosotc@gmail.com]

David Allsopp <dra-news@metastack.com> writes:

> moosotc@gmail.com wrote:
>> David Allsopp <dra-news@metastack.com> writes:
[..snip..]

>> 
>> srctree/var1/mod.{ml,mli}
>> srctree/var2/mod.{ml,mli}
>> 
>> instead of potential
>> 
>> srctree/mod.mli srctree/var1/mod.ml srctree/var2/mod.ml
>
> Yes, I get that - this is starting to feel mutually recursive. As it
> concerns you hugely, looking again at your original message:
>
> a) Yes, the compiler does expect the .ml and .mli files to be in the same directory
> b) Yes, this behaviour is specified in the manual, possibly too
> mathematically for your tastes, and perhaps benefitting from a
> cross-reference/extra sentence in section 2.5 to the compiler driver's
> documentation.
> c) No, the compiler does not force you to put .mli files with the .ml
> files in your use case - it has existing tools which can just about
> facilitate the layout you're after (see below). They could be
> improved, though.
> d) Lifting the "restriction", for example by allowing -I to search for
> .mli files, poses a large backwards-compatibility risk.
>
> Of the options I'd already specified, were any of:
>
> a) Add a new command line parameter to make ocamlc/ocamlopt pretend
> that it found a .mli file with the .ml file (and so use the -I
> directories to find the .cmi)

That'd work.

> b) Abuse the -intf-suffix parameter to achieve the same effect as option a 

Sorry, haven't tried that.

> c) Put a dummy/empty .mli (not the actual one) in each directory to
> achieve the same thing
>

This does work. Thanks.

> fundamentally unsuitable? You did eliminate the fourth option, which
> was just to delete the auto-generated .cmi file as with -o you can
> make it overwrite the actual .cmi file. I'm still puzzled as to why
> none of those other options yields a solution and the only way to you
> is a breaking change to the compiler driver or very pedantic updates
> to the documentation?
>

c. Which does work is not "fundamentally unsuitable" it's just:
   a) not aesthetic
   b) wastes an inode/repository entry

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