Re: [Caml-list] Why don't you use batteries?

[Dario Teixeira <darioteixeira@yahoo.com>]

Hi,

> I would use batteries and would recommend it to my students if there
> were any chance they would succeed installing it. In other words,
> batteries is too hard to install. This may not be so on Linux, but
> what about Windows (99% of my students use Windows only)?

This issue of Ocaml + Windows installation woes comes up all too often
on this list, and not just when Batteries are concerned.  It simply
boggles my mind that beginners will put themselves to such ordeals
when modern computing offers a much easier solution: if you really must
be running Windows as your main OS, then use a virtualisation solution
to run Ocaml inside a Linux guest!

Sure, your students may not be familiar with Linux, but you don't have
to be a "1337 Hax0r" to fire up a terminal and run "apt-get install".
Even if your students need a couple of hours of introduction to Linux,
that time will quickly be compensated by the ease of installing Ocaml
packages under Linux.  Moreover, and to be blunt, if your students are
not capable of making a tiny accommodation towards Linux, then trying
to teach them Ocaml seems as consequential as teaching pigs to sing.

In short, the "ease of installation" argument seems like a red herring
as far as beginners are concerned.

Best regards,
Dario Teixeira