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 PAA10035; Fri, 17 May 2002 15:45:26 +0200 (MET DST) X-Authentication-Warning: pauillac.inria.fr: majordomo set sender to owner-caml-list@pauillac.inria.fr using -f Received: from nez-perce.inria.fr (nez-perce.inria.fr [192.93.2.78]) by pauillac.inria.fr (8.7.6/8.7.3) with ESMTP id PAA09858 for ; Fri, 17 May 2002 15:45:25 +0200 (MET DST) Received: from d12lmsgate-3.de.ibm.com (d12lmsgate-3.de.ibm.com [195.212.91.201]) by nez-perce.inria.fr (8.11.1/8.11.1) with ESMTP id g4HDjOr08421 for ; Fri, 17 May 2002 15:45:24 +0200 (MET DST) Received: from d12relay01.de.ibm.com (d12relay01.de.ibm.com [9.165.215.22]) by d12lmsgate-3.de.ibm.com (8.12.3/8.12.3) with ESMTP id g4HDjMM8062140 for ; Fri, 17 May 2002 15:45:23 +0200 Received: from d10hubm1.telaviv.ibm.com (d10ml001.telaviv.ibm.com [9.148.216.55]) by d12relay01.de.ibm.com (8.11.1m3/8.11.2) with ESMTP id g4HDjMs24802 for ; Fri, 17 May 2002 15:45:22 +0200 Subject: [Caml-list] Camlp4 To: caml-list@inria.fr X-Mailer: Lotus Notes Release 5.0.7 March 21, 2001 Message-ID: From: "Ohad Rodeh" Date: Fri, 17 May 2002 16:19:32 +0300 X-MIMETrack: Serialize by Router on D10ML001/10/M/IBM(Release 5.0.9a |January 7, 2002) at 17/05/2002 16:45:22 MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Sender: owner-caml-list@pauillac.inria.fr Precedence: bulk List, I'm writing to check whether Camlp4 remains or not in the Caml distribution. I have a 60000 line system written in Caml, and I was seriously considering using Camlp4 for conditional compilation of debugging versions of some of my modules. Ohad. PS While I don't develop Caml, I personally think that: o Caml needs a preprocessor, at least for conditional compilation o The preprocessor needs to be in the primary distribution (not as an add-on) o Since there is a lot of code written in the old syntax, changing the syntax is out of the question. o The above point means that a preprocessor is needed to experiment with new syntax without breaking the old syntax. ----------------------------------------------------------------------------------- Ohad Rodeh tel: +972-9-9527641 IBM Haifa, storage research Christopher Quinn To: Sent by: cc: caml-list@inria.fr owner-caml-list@pauill Subject: [Caml-list] Re: Camlp4/OCaml ac.inria.fr 17/05/2002 02:22 Please respond to Christopher Quinn How can camlp4 be unimportant or a waste of time! Here are some things I find useful about it: o conditional compilation o ability to add command line options to switch between one's own 'safe' modules and their 'unsafe' versions which can only be done in the case of Arrays and Strings with the standard compiler. o one can always modify one's own copy of the parser, but that's a bother when something in the original changes, and besides, camlp4's extension mechanism allows a compact and manageable format. o no matter how one redefines the syntax, just running the source through camlp4 can reconstruct it in the vanilla form. So no one ever needs to suffer another's idea of perfection! o camlp4 seems to me to be one way to avoid the endless creation of mini-languages for specific tasks that end up trying to do stuff beyond their limited design. Better to start with the expressivity of the likes of caml, maybe cutting down, and augment with p4 extensions. I'm planning to embed some sql style DDL for my project. o I can write code without_the_god_damn_awful_underscore character stressing my hands and use-an-alternative-even (though-I-am-no-fan-of-lisp)! I felt these reasons were compelling enough to justify switching to camlp4 as my default parser. The above doubtless has no bearing on the technical arguments for not having camlp4 in the distribution. I just want to say I think camlp4 is important and indispensible. - chris ------------------- 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 ------------------- 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