Re: [Caml-list] Repacking modules gives unexpected results

[Jeremy Yallop <yallop@gmail.com>]

On 12 May 2015 at 22:47, peterfrey <pjfrey@sympatico.ca> wrote:
> (* I am running into a very strange problem with re-packed modules:
>   re-packed instances of variables take on their new values, but internal
>   functions that depend on those values are still tied to the initial
> values.

I think you're thinking of modules as a way of defining something like
objects, where variables bound within the module behave like member
variables that can be overridden.  In fact, modules are not very much
like objects, and variables bound in modules have the same lexical
scope as most of the rest of the language.  In particular, in this
definition:

  struct
    let buf  = Data.initial
    let len  = (Bytes.length Data.initial)
    let show() = sprintf"len:%i\tbuf:%s" len buf
  end

the names 'len' and 'buf' in the definition of 'show' will always
refer to the nearest bindings for those names in the scope *in which
show was defined*, no matter what you do elsewhere in the program.
OCaml programmers tend to think of this kind of lexical scope as a
feature, since it makes it quite straightforward to understand and
refactor code.

A little further down you have

   include (val env:ELT) let buf = "aBar"
                                  let len = 4

which, when you substitute in the value of 'env', and expand the
'include', gives you something equivalent to this:

    let buf  = Data.initial
    let len  = (Bytes.length Data.initial)
    let show() = sprintf"len:%i\tbuf:%s" len buf
    let buf = "aBar"
    let len = 4

Although the names 'buf' and 'len' are rebound, the rebindings don't
have any effect on the uses of the previous bindings in the definition
of 'show'.  Again, there's nothing module-specific going on here;
you'll see the same behaviour if you enter the definitions at the
top-level.

OCaml does have a system of objects and classes which behaves in
something like the way that you're expecting.  For example, you can
write:

  class make ~initial =
    object
      val buf = initial
      val len = String.length initial
      method show = Printf.sprintf "len:%i\tbuf:%s" len buf
      method repack ~buf ~len = {< buf = buf; len = len >}
    end

and then

  # let s = new make ~initial:"foo";;
  val s : make = <obj>
  # s#show;;
  - : string = "len:3\tbuf:foo"
  # let s' = s#repack ~buf:"aBar" ~len:4;;
  val s' : make = <obj>
  # s'#show;;
  - : string = "len:4\tbuf:aBar"

Jeremy.