From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Received: (from majordomo@localhost) by pauillac.inria.fr (8.7.6/8.7.3) id TAA23598; Fri, 18 Oct 2002 19:27:33 +0200 (MET DST) X-Authentication-Warning: pauillac.inria.fr: majordomo set sender to owner-caml-list@pauillac.inria.fr using -f Received: (from weis@localhost) by pauillac.inria.fr (8.7.6/8.7.3) id TAA23728 for caml-list@pauillac.inria.fr; Fri, 18 Oct 2002 19:27:32 +0200 (MET DST) Received: from concorde.inria.fr (concorde.inria.fr [192.93.2.39]) by pauillac.inria.fr (8.7.6/8.7.3) with ESMTP id QAA09368 for ; Fri, 18 Oct 2002 16:08:05 +0200 (MET DST) Received: from mail1.telekom.de (mail1.telekom.de [62.225.183.235]) by concorde.inria.fr (8.11.1/8.11.1) with ESMTP id g9IE84505459 for ; Fri, 18 Oct 2002 16:08:04 +0200 (MET DST) Received: from g9jbr.mgb01.telekom.de by G8SBV.dmz.telekom.de with ESMTP for caml-list@inria.fr; Fri, 18 Oct 2002 16:08:02 +0200 Received: by G9JBR.mgb01.telekom.de with Internet Mail Service (5.5.2653.19) id <46TFNSQL>; Fri, 18 Oct 2002 16:08:02 +0200 Message-Id: From: "Beck01, Wolfgang" To: caml-list@inria.fr Subject: RE: [Caml-list] Is Caml a fraud ( especially on Windows )? No. Date: Fri, 18 Oct 2002 16:08:01 +0200 MIME-Version: 1.0 X-Mailer: Internet Mail Service (5.5.2653.19) Content-Type: text/plain; charset="iso-8859-1" Sender: owner-caml-list@pauillac.inria.fr Precedence: bulk Pierre Weis wrote: > So, let me first recall here what was my message: > > I must warn you that Caml is a bit special: it is known as extremely > addictive. Many people that learnt it seriously, just don't want to > give it up and go back to real programming with *p++ or > null pointers ... > > You have to consider that before trying Caml: it could very well be > your last attempt to learn a new language. > > A better (and more cautious) approach would be to try all other > languages first (it ensures that the process will long for years) and > at the end, last but not least, try Caml :) > > All the best for trying to learn Caml! > I am a 'victim' of OCaml's addictiveness, but I agree with okzyk@interaccess.com in some points. The syntax is bit uncommon, but my main problem were the compiler error messages in the 3.02 version. Automatic type derivation is a concept that requires some acclimatisation. The debugger keeps telling me that there is no code where I want to set a breakpoint. As I am used to the 'printf debugging style, this is no real problem for me. However, after having mastered these obstacles, I use OCaml wherever possible. A SIP (IP telephony) client written in OCaml processes real-time audio without a problem and a OCaml SIP call generator outperforms some commercial tools. A code size comparison between my SIP parser (~5000 lines OCaml) and the corresponding parts of the free Vovida stack (~50 000 lines C++) speaks for itself. Some promlems remain: If I need co-workers in a project, teaching them OCaml would take too much time. It's not just teaching OCaml but teaching the functional paradigma as well. In a small commercial project, licensing was an issue. But yes, I've earned my department money in a project using OCaml. No, OCaml is not a fraud. -- Wolfgang Beck T-Systems GmbH 64295 Darmstadt Germany ------------------- To unsubscribe, mail caml-list-request@inria.fr Archives: http://caml.inria.fr Bug reports: http://caml.inria.fr/bin/caml-bugs FAQ: http://caml.inria.fr/FAQ/ Beginner's list: http://groups.yahoo.com/group/ocaml_beginners