[cwn] Attn: Development Editor, Latest OCaml Weekly News

Alan Schmitt alan.schmitt at polytechnique.org
Mon Jun 10 23:36:55 PDT 2019


Hello

Here is the latest OCaml Weekly News, for the week of June 04 to 
11,
2019.

Table of Contents
─────────────────

Dune 1.10.0
OCaml 4.08.0+rc2
hdf5 0.1.5
2-year Postdoc Position on Frama-C/E-ACSL
Category theory for Programmers book - OCaml flavor
Genprint - general value printing
Old CWN


Dune 1.10.0
═══════════

  Archive: <https://discuss.ocaml.org/t/ann-dune-1-10-0/3896/1>


Rudi Grinberg announced
───────────────────────

  On behalf of the dune team, I'm pleased to announce the 1.10.0 
  release
  of dune. This release is packed with bug fixes, but it also 
  introduces
  a few interesting features. I'll highlight one important feature 
  that
  we've introduced and plan to improve in future versions:

  Dune allows you to specify package metadata in the dune project 
  file
  and generate an appropriate opam file. This is advantageous to 
  writing
  opam files manually as dune will correctly fill in some 
  boilerplate
  such as the build command:

  Here's a snippet from dune's own project file as a 
  demonstration:

  ┌────
  │ (generate_opam_files true) ;; necessary to enbale the 
  generation
  │
  │ (license MIT)
  │ (maintainers "Jane Street Group, LLC 
  <opensource at janestreet.com>")
  │ (authors "Jane Street Group, LLC <opensource at janestreet.com>")
  │ (source (github ocaml/dune))
  │ (documentation "https://dune.readthedocs.io/")
  │
  │ (package
  │  (name dune)
  │  (depends
  │   (ocaml (>= 4.02))
  │   base-unix
  │   base-threads)
  │  (conflicts
  │   (jbuilder (<> "transition"))
  │   (odoc (< 1.3.0))
  │   (dune-release (< 1.3.0)))
  │  (synopsis "Fast, portable and opinionated build system")
  │  (description "<redacted>"))
  └────

  Generating the opam file is done via `$ dune build @check' (the
  `@install', and `@all' aliases will also work).

  Later, we plan to have dune do some sanity checks on the 
  `depends'
  field. In the more distant future, we might even skip the 
  generation
  step altogether by having opam invoke dune to get the generated 
  opam
  file directly.

  As usual, the change log is replicated here for your 
  convenience:


1.10.0 (04/06/2019)
╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌

  • Restricted the set of variables available for expansion in the
    destination filename of `install' stanza to simplify 
    implementation
    and avoid dependency cycles. (#2073, @aalekseyev, @diml)

  • [menhir] call menhir from context root build_dir (#2067, 
  @ejgallego,
    review by @diml, @rgrinberg)

  • [coq] Add `coq.pp' stanza to help with pre-processing of 
  grammar
    files (#2054, @ejgallego, review by @rgrinberg)

  • Add a new more generic form for the *promote* mode: `(promote
      (until-clean) (into <dir>))' (#2068, @diml)

  • Allow to promote only a subset of the targets via `(promote 
  (only
      <pred>))'. For instance: `(promote (only *.mli))' (#2068, 
      @diml)

  • Improve the behavior when a strict subset of the targets of a 
  rule
    is already in the source tree for projects using the dune 
    language <
    1.10 (#2068, fixes #2061, @diml)

  • With lang dune >= 1.10, rules in standard mode are no longer 
  allowed
    to produce targets that are present in the source tree. This 
    has
    been a warning for long enough (#2068, @diml)

  • Allow %{…} variables in pps flags (#2076, @mlasson review by 
  @diml
    and @aalekseyev).

  • Add a 'cookies' option to ppx_rewriter/deriver flags in 
  library
    stanzas. This allow to specify cookie requests from variables
    expanded at each invocation of the preprocessor. (#2106, 
    @mlasson
    @diml)

  • Add more opam metadata and use it to generate `.opam' files. 
  In
    particular, a `package' field has been added to specify 
    package
    specific information.  (#2017, #2091, @avsm, @jonludlam, 
    @rgrinberg)

  • Clean up the special support for `findlib.dynload'. Before, 
  Dune
    would simply match on the library name. Now, we only match on 
    the
    findlib package name when the library doesn't come from
    Dune. Someone writing a library called `findlib.dynload' with 
    Dune
    would have to add `(special_builtin_support findlib_dynload)' 
    to
    trigger the special behavior. (#2115, @diml)

  • Install the `future_syntax' preprocessor as 
  `ocaml-syntax-shims.exe'
    (#2125, @rgrinberg)

  • Hide full command on errors and warnings in development and 
  show
    them in CI.  (detected using the `CI' environment
    variable). Commands for which the invocation might be omitted 
    must
    output an error prefixed with `File ~. Add an
    ~--always-show-command-line' option to disable this behavior 
    and
    always show the full command. (#2120, fixes #1733, @rgrinberg)

  • In `dune-workspace' files, add the ability to choose the host
    context and to create duplicates of the default context with
    different settings. (#2098, @TheLortex, review by @diml, 
    @rgrinberg
    and @aalekseyev)

  • Add support for hg in `dune subst' (#2135, @diml)

  • Don't build documentation for implementations of virtual 
  libraries
    (#2141, fixes #2138, @jonludlam)

  • Fix generation of the `-pp' flag in .merlin (#2142, 
  @rgrinberg)

  • Make `dune subst' add a `(version ...)' field to the 
  `dune-project'
    file (#2148, @diml)

  • Add the `%{os_type}' variable, which is a short-hand for
    `%{ocaml-config:os_type}' (#1764, @diml)

  • Allow `enabled_if' fields in `library' stanzas, restricted to 
  the
    `%{os_type}', `%{model}', `%{architecture}', `%{system}' 
    variables
    (#1764, #2164 @diml, @rgrinberg)

  • Fix `chdir' on external and source paths. Dune will also fail
    gracefully if the external or source path does not exist 
    (#2165,
    fixes #2158, @rgrinberg)

  • Support the `.cc' extension fro C++ sources (#2195, fixes #83,
    @rgrinberg)

  • Run `ocamlformat' relative to the context root. This improves 
  the
    locations of errors. (#2196, fixes #1370, @rgrinberg)

  • Fix detection of `README', `LICENSE', `CHANGE', and `HISTORY'
    files. These would be undetected whenever the project was 
    nested in
    another workspace.  (#2194, @rgrinberg)

  • Fix generation of `.merlin' whenever there's more than one 
  stanza
    with the same ppx preprocessing specification (#2209 ,fixes 
    #2206,
    @rgrinberg)

  • Fix generation of `.merlin' in the presence of the 
  `copy_files'
    stanza and preprocessing specifications of other stanazs. 
    (#2211,
    fixes #2206, @rgrinberg)

  • Run `refmt' from the context's root directory. This improves 
  error
    messages in case of syntax errors. (#2223, @rgrinberg)

  • In .merlin files, don't pass `-dump-ast' to the 
  `future_syntax'
    preprocessor.  Merlin doesn't seem to like it when binary AST 
    is
    generated by a `-pp' preprocessor. (#2236, @aalekseyev)

  • `dune install' will verify that all files mentioned in all 
  .install
    files exist before trying to install anything. This prevents 
    partial
    installation of packages (#2230, @rgrinberg)


OCaml 4.08.0+rc2
════════════════

  Archive:
  <https://sympa.inria.fr/sympa/arc/caml-list/2019-06/msg00010.html>


Damien Doligez announced
────────────────────────

  The release of OCaml version 4.08.0 is imminent.  We have 
  created a
  second release candidate that you can test.

  The source code is available at these addresses:

  <https://github.com/ocaml/ocaml/archive/4.08.0+rc2.tar.gz>
  <https://caml.inria.fr/pub/distrib/ocaml-4.08/4.08.0+rc2.tar.gz>

  The compiler can also be installed as an OPAM switch with one of 
  the
  following commands.

  ┌────
  │ opam switch create ocaml-variants.4.08.0+rc2 
  --repositories=default,beta=git+https://github.com/ocaml/ocaml-beta-repository.git
  └────

  or

  ┌────
  │ opam switch create ocaml-variants.4.08.0+rc2+<VARIANT> 
  --repositories=default,beta=git+https://github.com/ocaml/ocaml-beta-repository.git
  └────

  where you replace <VARIANT> with one of these:
  • afl
  • default_unsafe_string
  • flambda
  • fp
  • fp+flambda

  We want to know about all bugs. Please report them here:
   <https://github.com/ocaml/ocaml/issues>

  Happy hacking,

  – Damien Doligez for the OCaml team.


  The only change from rc1 is the bug fix for #8705:
    <https://github.com/ocaml/ocaml/issues/8705>
    <https://github.com/ocaml/ocaml/pull/8706>

  Editor's note: please follow the archive link for the full 
  changelog
  from 4.07.1.


hdf5 0.1.5
══════════

  Archive: <https://discuss.ocaml.org/t/ann-hdf5-0-1-5/3897/1>


Vladimir Brankov announced
──────────────────────────

  hdf5 0.1.5 is not available in OPAM.  Since the version 0.1.2 it
  mostly got bug fixes.

  <https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Hierarchical_Data_Format>

  <https://github.com/vbrankov/hdf5-ocaml>


2-year Postdoc Position on Frama-C/E-ACSL
═════════════════════════════════════════

  Archive:
  <https://sympa.inria.fr/sympa/arc/caml-list/2019-06/msg00011.html>


Julien Signoles announced
─────────────────────────

  The Software Reliability and Security Lab at CEA LIST (Paris 
  Saclay,
  France) is hiring a 2-year postdoctoral researcher who will 
  improve
  E-ACSL, the runtime verification plug-in of Frama-C.

  Frama-C is an opensource framework providing several analyzers 
  for C
  code.  The analyzed programs can be annotated by formal 
  specifications
  written in the ACSL specification language. E-ACSL is one of the
  existing Frama-C analyzers. It converts ACSL annotations into C 
  code
  in order to verify their validity at runtime, when the program 
  is
  being executed.

  The goal of this postdoctoral position is twofolds: on the one 
  hand,
  the postdoctoral researcher shall propose new compilation 
  schemes to
  support additional ACSL constructs; on the other hand (s)he 
  shall
  define new compilation techniques (or adapt existing ones) in 
  order to
  optimize the generated code for reducing the time overhead and 
  the
  memory footprint of the generated program. The work will be 
  guided by
  and evaluated on case studies providing by a few of our academic 
  and
  industrial partners.

  Knowledge in at least one of the following fields is required:
  • functional programming (ideally OCaml)
  • C programming
  • compilation
  • static analysis
  • semantics of programming languages
  • runtime verification
  • formal specification

  A full description of the position is available online:

  <http://julien.signoles.free.fr/positions/postdoc-eacsl.pdf>

  Feel free to contact me for additional details.


Category theory for Programmers book - OCaml flavor
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════

  Archive:
  <https://discuss.ocaml.org/t/category-theory-for-programmers-book-ocaml-flavor/3905/1>


Anton Kochkov announced
───────────────────────

  There is an amazing book called [Category Theory for Programmers 
  by
  Bartosz Milewski]. At first it was focused on Haskell mostly, 
  added
  Scala support after. But then [someone stepped in] to add the 
  OCaml
  variant of this book.  So writing this message as both 
  recommendation
  for the [book] itself, and to be aware (and even better - to 
  help) of
  the ongoing effort to make it OCaml-friendly.

  <https://aws1.discourse-cdn.com/standard11/uploads/ocaml/original/2X/5/57d74aa703578b90c1d348a3f97226d30ec3c864.jpeg>

  See the current progress at
  <https://github.com/ArulselvanMadhavan/ocaml-ctfp>.


[Category Theory for Programmers by Bartosz Milewski]
<https://github.com/hmemcpy/milewski-ctfp-pdf>

[someone stepped in]
<https://github.com/hmemcpy/milewski-ctfp-pdf/issues/169>

[book]
<https://github.com/hmemcpy/milewski-ctfp-pdf/releases/download/v1.2.1/category-theory-for-programmers.pdf>


Genprint - general value printing
═════════════════════════════════

  Archive:
  <https://discuss.ocaml.org/t/ann-genprint-general-value-printing/3912/1>


progman announced
─────────────────

  This is a patch/switch for basic printing of any value 
  (excepting
  abstract and polymorphic elements) exactly as printed by the 
  toplevel
  for a final result.

  It's appropriate for debug purposes where custom crafted or
  ppx-deriving printers are overkill/inconvenient.

  <https://github.com/progman1/genprint>


Old CWN
═══════

  If you happen to miss a CWN, you can [send me a message] and 
  I'll mail
  it to you, or go take a look at [the archive] or the [RSS feed 
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  [online].

  [Alan Schmitt]


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[Alan Schmitt] <http://alan.petitepomme.net/>

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