[cwn] Attn: Development Editor, Latest OCaml Weekly News
Alan Schmitt
alan.schmitt at polytechnique.org
Tue Aug 31 02:37:31 PDT 2021
Hello
Here is the latest OCaml Weekly News, for the week of August 24 to 31,
2021.
Table of Contents
─────────────────
First beta release of OCaml 4.13.0
Windows-capable Diskuv OCaml 0.1.0
v3.OCaml.org: A roadmap for OCaml's online presence
Software engineer at Wolfram MathCore
memprof-limits (first official release): Memory limits, allocation limits, and thread cancellation, with interrupt-safe resources
OCaml Workshop 2021: Live Stream
Goodbye Core_kernel
Old CWN
First beta release of OCaml 4.13.0
══════════════════════════════════
Archive:
<https://discuss.ocaml.org/t/first-beta-release-of-ocaml-4-13-0/8356/1>
octachron announced
───────────────────
The release of OCaml 4.13.0 is getting closer.
The set of new features has been stabilized, and core opam packages
already work with this release (see
<http://check.ocamllabs.io>). After two alpha releases, we have
created a first beta version to help you update your softwares and
libraries ahead of the release.
If you find any bugs, please report them here:
<https://github.com/ocaml/ocaml/issues>
The full release of OCaml 4.13.0 is currently planned for September.
Happy hacking, Florian Angeletti for the OCaml team.
Installation instructions
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The base compiler can be installed as an opam switch with the
following commands
┌────
│ opam update
│ opam switch create 4.13.0~beta1 --repositories=default,beta=git+https://github.com/ocaml/ocaml-beta-repository.git
└────
If you want to tweak the configuration of the compiler, you can switch
to the option variant with:
┌────
│ opam update
│ opam switch create <switch_name> --packages=ocaml-variants.4.13.0~beta1+options,<option_list>
│ --repositories=default,beta=git+https://github.com/ocaml/ocaml-beta-repository.git
└────
where `<option_list>' is a comma separated list of ocaml-option-*
packages. For instance, for a flambda and no-flat-float-array switch:
┌────
│ opam switch create 4.13.0~beta1+flambda+nffa
│ --packages=ocaml-variants.4.13.0~beta1+options,ocaml-option-flambda,ocaml-option-no-flat-float-array
│ --repositories=default,beta=git+https://github.com/ocaml/ocaml-beta-repository.git
└────
All available options can be listed with `opam search ocaml-option'.
The source code for the beta release is also available at these
addresses:
• <https://github.com/ocaml/ocaml/archive/4.13.0-beta1.tar.gz>
• <https://caml.inria.fr/pub/distrib/ocaml-4.13/ocaml-4.13.0~beta1.tar.gz>
Changes since the last alpha release
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• [10549]: Stack overflow detection and naked pointers checking for
ARM64 (Xavier Leroy, review by Stephen Dolan)
• [10442], [10446]: Fix regression in the toplevel to #directory
caused by corrections and improvements to the Load_path in
[9611]. #directory now adds the path to the start of the load path
again (so files in the newly added directory take priority). (David
Allsopp, report by Vasile Rotaru, review by Florian Angeletti and
Nicolás Ojeda Bär)
• [10450], [10558]: keep %apply and %revapply primitives working with
abstract types. This breach of backward compatibility was only
present in the alpha releases of OCaml 4.13.0 . (Florian Angeletti,
review by Thomas Refis and Leo White)
• [10380]: Correct handling of UTF-8 paths in configure on Windows
(David Allsopp, review by Sébastien Hinderer)
• [10543]: Fix Ast_mapper to apply the mapping function to the
constants in "interval" patterns `c1..c2'. (Guillaume Petiot,
review by Gabriel Scherer and Nicolás Ojeda Bär)
• [10550], [10551]: fix pretty-print of gadt-pattern-with-type-vars
(Chet Murthy, review by Gabriel Scherer)
• [10497]: Styling changes in the post-processed HTML manual (webman)
(Wiktor Kuchta, review by Florian Angeletti)
[10549] <https://github.com/ocaml/ocaml/issues/10549>
[10442] <https://github.com/ocaml/ocaml/issues/10442>
[10446] <https://github.com/ocaml/ocaml/issues/10446>
[9611] <https://github.com/ocaml/ocaml/issues/9611>
[10450] <https://github.com/ocaml/ocaml/issues/10450>
[10558] <https://github.com/ocaml/ocaml/issues/10558>
[10380] <https://github.com/ocaml/ocaml/issues/10380>
[10543] <https://github.com/ocaml/ocaml/issues/10543>
[10550] <https://github.com/ocaml/ocaml/issues/10550>
[10551] <https://github.com/ocaml/ocaml/issues/10551>
[10497] <https://github.com/ocaml/ocaml/issues/10497>
Windows-capable Diskuv OCaml 0.1.0
══════════════════════════════════
Archive:
<https://discuss.ocaml.org/t/ann-windows-capable-diskuv-ocaml-0-1-0/8358/1>
jbeckford announced
───────────────────
I am pleased to announce the first preview release of the /Diskuv
OCaml/ ("DKML") distribution. Parts of the [diskuv / diskuv-ocaml
README.md] are reproduced below:
/Diskuv OCaml/ is an OCaml distribution focused on a) secure,
cross-platform software development and b) ease of use for language
learners and professional developers.
*Documentation is available at
<https://diskuv.gitlab.io/diskuv-ocaml/>*
The preview versions 0.1.x run on *64-bit Windows* and:
1. Includes an installer for the initial multi-hour Windows
compilation process, including the installation of Git and Visual
Studio Build Tools if needed:
<https://diskuv.gitlab.io/diskuv-ocaml/_images/Intro-install-world.png>
2. Includes a UNIX-compatible runtime environment for building OCaml
applications with common tools like `make`, `opam` and `dune`:
┌────
│ [PS Z:\source\diskuv-ocaml-starter] cd ~/DiskuvOCamlProjects/diskuv-ocaml-starter
│ [PS Z:\source\diskuv-ocaml-starter] ./make build-dev
│ [PS Z:\source\diskuv-ocaml-starter] _build/default/bin/main.exe
│ > 1
│ > 2
│ > 3
│ > 94.5
│ > Total: 100.5
│ [PS Z:\source\diskuv-ocaml-starter] ./make shell-dev
└────
┌────
│ [diskuv-ocaml-starter]$ echo You are now running a UNIX shell.
│ > You are now running a UNIX shell.
│ [diskuv-ocaml-starter]$ opam switch --short
│ > C:\Users\you\AppData\Local\Programs\DiskuvOCaml\1\system
│ > Z:\source\diskuv-ocaml-starter\build\dev\Debug
│ > Z:\source\diskuv-ocaml-starter\build\dev\Release
│ > diskuv-boot-DO-NOT-DELETE
│ [diskuv-ocaml-starter]$ dune utop
│ > ──────────┬─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┬──────────
│ > │ Welcome to utop version 2.8.0 (using OCaml version 4.12.0)! │
│ > └─────────────────────────────────────────────────────────────┘
│ >
│ > Type #utop_help for help about using utop.
│ >
│ > ─( 06:26:11 )─< command 0 >─────────────────────────────────────────{ counter: 0 }─
└────
┌────
│ utop #> let square x = x * x ;;
│ > val square : int -> int = <fun>
│ utop #> square 2 ;;
│ > - : int = 4
│ utop #> square (square 2) ;;
│ > - : int = 16
│ utop #> #quit ;;
└────
3. Works with the OCaml recommended Visual Studio Code plugin:
<https://gitlab.com/diskuv/diskuv-ocaml/-/raw/3c4515636c37f8a7cb94d643db3c76009b4d5656/contributors/doc/diskuv-ocaml-starter.vscode-screenshot.png>
*Please visit our documentation at
<https://diskuv.gitlab.io/diskuv-ocaml/>*
<https://img.shields.io/twitter/follow/diskuv?style=social>
[diskuv / diskuv-ocaml README.md]
<https://gitlab.com/diskuv/diskuv-ocaml/-/blob/main/README.md>
Acknowledgements
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The /Diskuv OCaml/ distribution would not be possible without many
people's efforts!
In alphabetical order some of the critical pieces were provided by:
• Andreas Hauptmann (fdopen@) - Maintained the defacto Windows ports
of OCaml for who knows how long
• INRIA for creating and maintaining OCaml
• Jane Street and the contributors to `dune'
• OCaml Labs and the contributors for the Visual Studio Code extension
for OCaml
• OCamlPro, Jane Street and the contributors to `opam'
• Yaron Minsky, Anil Madhavapeddy and Jason Hickey for the book "Real
World OCaml"
For OCaml package maintainers two things in particular may be of
interest:
• Instructions for VirtualBox for how to run Windows virtual machines
(legally and free!) on Linux and macOS: [Windows 10 on macOS/Linux
with VirtualBox]
• Using `core_kernel.v0.14.2' as a prototypical example, there is a
detailed walkthrough and resolution for the common problems you may
experience getting your package to build on a native Windows
toolchain: [MSVC + MSYS2 toolchain ]
Feedback is appreciated! I'll post critical bug fixes and important
documentation updates in the [Windows-capable Diskuv OCaml 0.1.0]
topic thread until the next release (0.1.1 or 0.2.0).
[Windows 10 on macOS/Linux with VirtualBox]
<https://diskuv.gitlab.io/diskuv-ocaml/doc/AdvancedInstalls/WindowsInVirtualBox.html>
[MSVC + MSYS2 toolchain ]
<https://diskuv.gitlab.io/diskuv-ocaml/doc/AdvancedToolchain.html>
[Windows-capable Diskuv OCaml 0.1.0] <https://discuss.ocaml.org>
v3.OCaml.org: A roadmap for OCaml's online presence
═══════════════════════════════════════════════════
Archive:
<https://discuss.ocaml.org/t/v3-ocaml-org-a-roadmap-for-ocamls-online-presence/8368/1>
Anil Madhavapeddy announced
───────────────────────────
The current ("v2") ocaml.org website was written a decade ago
([presentation]) and – while it has served us well – its age is
showing as our community has grown. To put things in context, the
opam package manager didn't actually exist when we built the current
iteration of the website.
_TL;DR: preview the new package search at
<https://v3.ocaml.org/packages>_
In November 2020, the current maintainers put our heads together to
rebuild the website to modern standards ("v3"). When it came to
determining the goals of the website refresh, we were driven by the
need to integrate the technological developments of the last decade –
for example, the adoption of opam as the package management system
(evidenced by close to 20,000 packages in the opam repository), and
the emergence of common tools and workflows that benefit both
individual developers as well as larger-scale industrial codebases.
In October 2020, the core OCaml team also issued a user survey to
solicit information from our user community about priorities for the
OCaml ecosystem. Here are the [original results], [original discuss
thread], [concrete suggestions] and some [analysis]. Where
appropriate, we reference the user survey results in the information
below to try to ensure our decisions are as inclusive as possible.
[presentation] <https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=W7_wIjvg_is>
[original results]
<https://docs.google.com/forms/u/1/d/1OZV7WCprDnouU-rIEuw-1lDTeXrH_naVlJ77ziXQJfg/viewanalytics>
[original discuss thread]
<https://discuss.ocaml.org/t/ann-ocaml-user-survey-2020/6624>
[concrete suggestions]
<https://discuss.ocaml.org/t/suggestions-from-the-ocaml-survey-result/6791>
[analysis] <https://patricoferris.github.io/ocaml-survey-analysis/>
[v3.ocaml.org] features
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The v3 version of the website is a rewrite from scratch. This is
mostly because the web technologies used in the 2011 version are
outdated, and it is difficult to forward port them to a standard that
meets modern accessibility requirements. Our own OCaml tooling
ecosystem has also moved on tremendously in the last decade, so it was
time for a fresh start. The new site features:
[v3.ocaml.org] <https://v3.ocaml.org/>
Integrated documentation and package management
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When v2 was developed, the opam package manager didn't exist yet and
so we ended up with a fragmented ecosystem (opam.ocaml.org is separate
and distinct from ocaml.org, and other package managers like GODI also
had separate websites). Since then, opam metadata has become the
standard in our ecosystem with over 20000 packages published.
The v3 site combines the existing package management subdomain with a
new central documentation source (formerly codenamed `docs.ocaml.org')
for all versions of all opam packages. This content is held *directly
within the new ocaml.org site* and not a set of subdomains, reflecting
a clear community direction. Our goal is for the live website to
contain published package API docs within 30 minutes of the package
being merged.
Separation of data editing from HTML/CSS generation
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The v2 site combined (e.g.) fetching external newsfeeds with the HTML
generation, which made it expensive to scale with new content as every
build would take longer and longer.
The v3 site keeps a structured store of data as OCaml values, which is
then used to generate the frontend website. We use ReScript/OCaml to
generate the site content, and Ocurrent to automate the data
pipelines. The data source repository is known as ood (OCaml.Org
Data). Finally, the static HTML is combined with the dynamic API
documentation generation and served via a [Dream]-based webserver.
• [ocaml/ood] is the OCaml.org data repository.
• [ocaml/v3.ocaml.org] is the ReScript-based frontend site generator
• [ocurrent/ocaml-docs-ci] is the OCurrent pipeline that incrementally
builds the 19500+ packages and prepares them for publishing online
with [odoc] and [voodoo].
• [ocaml/v3.ocaml.org-server] is the Dream-based server that serves
the overall site.
For users wishing to submit content fixes to the website, they need to
do nothing more than clone [ocaml/ood] and submit the fix there,
without a full website build.
[Dream] <https://github.com/aantron/dream>
[ocaml/ood] <https://github.com/ocaml/ood>
[ocaml/v3.ocaml.org] <https://github.com/ocaml/v3.ocaml.org>
[ocurrent/ocaml-docs-ci] <https://github.com/ocurrent/ocaml-docs-ci>
[odoc] <https://github.com/ocaml/odoc>
[voodoo] <https://github.com/ocaml-doc/voodoo>
[ocaml/v3.ocaml.org-server]
<https://github.com/ocaml/v3.ocaml.org-server>
Publishing original content
┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄
The v2 site syndicated from external sources, which worked well when
the web (circa 2011) was centred around RSS/Atom feeds and blogging
engines. The modern web (circa 2021) has moved towards social
networking chatter, which greatly reduces the value of syndicating
content. We also now have multiple discussion forums such as
discuss.ocaml.org where original content is frequently posted.
There will there be original content on the v3 site, so that we can
publish editorial content from around the community directly on
ocaml.org. Original content can include interviews, featured news
stories, informative forum posts, online talks and other media from
past conferences, along with many other types of content.
To facilitate this without tying ourselves to a third-party website,
we have deployed an instance of the open-source Peertube video hosting
application, over at watch.ocaml.org. This provides an open API (free
of adverts and third-party cookies) to view video material about OCaml
through its rich history. The OCaml Workshop 2021 videos are being
published on watch.ocaml.org as their primary source:
<https://watch.ocaml.org/video-channels/ocaml2021/videos>
Accessible, sustainable and respectful of privacy
┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄
The v2 site grew organically over a decade, and so a multiplicity of
ways to navigate it emerged. The v3 site design takes into account
modern web design principles, restructuring the old content in
accordance with methods that present it more compellingly. It is a
total redesign that modernises the look and feel of the site to work
well on mobile and other responsive targets, as well as being easier
to navigate and more accessible.
In terms of technology, the frontend switches to Tailwind CSS and uses
React/Rescript/NextJS to generate most of the site HTML. The backend
data sources all remain in pure OCaml code, meaning that we retain the
ability to migrate to new frontend technologies without a full rewrite
in the future.
The v3 website has a simple privacy policy: there are no third-party
cookies or tracking systems in place beyond server-side log
analysis. This allows us to be compliant with GDPR rules, but also be
accessible to the widest global audience.
In reflection of our strong committment to sustainability, we are also
working on a "carbon policy" that will track and publish our energy
usage across the full ocaml.org infrastructure (including the build
cluster). This adds up to around ~1000 CPU cores of different
architectures hosted around the world in various data centres, and we
are aiming to be carbon neutral via the use of renewable energy and
similar initiatives.
A quick tour of some nice bits of v3.ocaml.org
╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌
(This is accurate as of 4th Aug 2021)
• The [Industrial Users page] is driven from the [ood data here].
• The [Academic Excellence page] has a world map of users as well and
is driven from [ood data here].
• The [opam package search for 'vg'] show a docs build (there are some
broken images in the docs, which is a known issue). Try clicking
around the different versions of the package as well, or searching
for your own!
• The [v3 tutorials] are all checked with mdx to make sure that they
are consistent with the latest version of OCaml.
• The [events page] shows past OCaml Workshops. Clicking on the [2020
one] shows videos embedded from watch.ocaml.org and served directly
from our new site instead of a third-party provider.
There are still lots of unfinished pages (most notably the front page
is totally placeholder until we finish more of the leaf pages), but
this should hopefully give you a good view on where the site is going!
[Industrial Users page] <https://v3.ocaml.org/en/principles/users/>
[ood data here]
<https://github.com/ocaml/ood/tree/main/data/industrial_users/en>
[Academic Excellence page]
<https://v3.ocaml.org/en/principles/academic/>
[ood data here]
<https://github.com/ocaml/ood/tree/main/data/academic_institutions/en>
[opam package search for 'vg'] <https://v3.ocaml.org/p/vg/0.9.4>
[v3 tutorials] <https://v3.ocaml.org/en/resources/tutorials/>
[events page] <https://v3.ocaml.org/en/community/events>
[2020 one] <https://v3.ocaml.org/en/community/event/oud2020/>
2020 Survey Actions
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The v3 website was partly driven by the feedback from our community as
well as the core team's discretion. We will now go through the
feedback items.
Individual quotes from different answers
┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄
Pain point when Learning the OCaml Language
┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈
• /"Lack of search engine friendly content. Other mainstream languages
have plenty of short tutorials available on the web": The few OCaml
does have are not discoverable easily"/: On the new site we're
making the core tutorials easier to find. Community members are also
working on new tutorial systems for beginners, and the website can
link to these as they are published.
• /"Up to date docs and learning materials and books"/: The Language
page will help users find this information in the future.
• /"Poor documentation"/ and /"Most libraries have very sparse
documentation"/: There are many, many comments like this one, and
while we cannot solve this directly, having integrated and
up-to-date API docs directly in OCaml.org should incentivise people
to do a better job of adding ocamldoc comments to their code.
I am satisfied with OCaml's package repositories, what would you change
┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈
• "Create a opam search repo". This now exists, via
v3.ocaml.org/packages and the search bar.
From the discuss thread
┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈┈
• [Yawaramin wrote]: /"Or Outreachy internships or other funded dev
work at less than senior level? There are libraries out there in
other languages that would be tremendously beneficial to port over
to OCaml…"./ *Action:* the OCaml Software Foundation and OCaml Labs
have now run [multiple Outreachy programs], with the most recent
working on v3.ocaml.org itself. We need community help to add more
mentors to scale this program – please volunteer!
• [Anil's comment] touches on all aspects (ocaml.org, mdx (the
tutorials now use), 'Our new CI will also feature macOS and Windows'
… getting there). *Action:* the v3 infrastructure uses all the
best-of-breed tools the community has been developing in recent
years. Tutorials are checked in CI via mdx, for example, so that
they won't bitrot with a new release of OCaml that changes outputs.
[Yawaramin wrote]
<https://discuss.ocaml.org/t/suggestions-from-the-ocaml-survey-result/6791/5>
[multiple Outreachy programs]
<https://discuss.ocaml.org/t/become-an-outreachy-mentor-support-the-growth-and-diversity-of-the-ocaml-community/8213>
[Anil's comment]
<https://discuss.ocaml.org/t/suggestions-from-the-ocaml-survey-result/6791/14>
Items nearly achieved
┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄
• 42 people (6.2%) when answering /"If one piece of the ecosystem
could magically be made state-of-the-art, I would ask for"/ answered
with *a language website*, 121 (18%) answered *documentation for
user libraries* and 73 (10.8%) *communication to outsiders*. - In
question no 20, the preferred interaction methods differed for each
group (beginner, intermediate, advanced, expert). In order to
address this, we have integrated links to all the main interaction
methods on "Around The Web". "Around the Web" also serves as a
common interaction method for all groups.
Works in progress
┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄
• When asked "What do you think are the main pain points that prevent
OCaml adoption for new projects?" 310 (50.4%) said *Too hard to hire
and find developers* and 181 (29.4%) said *Too hard to learn* – v3
incorporates an opportunities section and sets up a much more
comprehensive environment for writing and expanding tutorials and
documentation.
• When asked if OCaml best practises are understood roughly 40% said
they were neutral, disagreed or strongly disagreed! *Action:*
There's been a phenomenal amount of work here including @cdaringe's
[discuss post] and @tmattio's [WIP workflows PR to ood].
• When asking whether or not people could easily find OCaml jobs, just
shy of 50% responded with Neutral, Disagree, Strongly Disagree and I
don't know. *Action:* We have a [`jobs' category] on the discussion
forum, which will be syndicated to the Opportunities page on the new
website.
[discuss post]
<https://discuss.ocaml.org/t/defining-standard-ocaml-development-lifecycle-processes/7486>
[WIP workflows PR to ood] <https://github.com/ocaml/ood/pull/41>
[`jobs' category] <https://discuss.ocaml.org/c/community/jobs/14>
Long-term goals
┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄
• OFronds + OCaml Playground/Per package toplevel – making it easier
and easier for beginners to get started in OCaml. We have a
proof-of-concept of a toplevel built using JSOO, which we are aiming
to integrate for every package that supports such a build.
Next Steps in 2021
╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌
Fall 2021
┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄
The v3 website is going into "public alpha" in August. This means that
several pages aren't yet complete at all, integration is continuing,
and the design will be refined over the coming months. The overall
structure and sitemap is ready, and the technology choices have all
been ratified and deployed.
The best way to give feedback would be to start a thread on
discuss.ocaml.org. Bear in mind that the site is in an early stage, so
be constructive and kind in your criticism (but also do not hold
back!). If you feel that private feedback is more appropriate, then
feel free to contact me directly on anil at recoil.org and I will forward
your feedback to the team.
Winter 2021
┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄
As community feedback settles and the features are all implemented,
the site will move into public beta. At this point, we will be working
on refining the tail of bugs and preparing to swap websites.
Going live
┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄
When going live, the switch will happen as follows:
• the existing ocaml.org site will be snapshotted as static HTML and
deployed on v2.ocaml.org with a header marking the site as
"deprecated"
• we generate a sitemap of static HTML on v2.ocaml.org and, where the
link doesn't resolve on v3.ocaml.org, create a redirect to
v2.ocaml.org. This will prevent dead links from existing content.
• v3.ocaml.org is aliased to ocaml.org via a DNS swap.
• opam.ocaml.org will continue to be operated indefinitely, since
existing clients use that as the package mirror. The web content
will gradually migrate to ocaml.org links in the course of 2022.
How can you contribute to the v3 effort?
┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄┄
There is an awful lot left to be done to get this site live, as
always!
• *Frontend developer*: The ReScript/NextJS-based frontend [issue
tracker] has a maintained set of issues about what pages are
remaining. There is also always general polish to be done as many
of the pages are in their first design iteration. See the
repository CONTRIBUTING.md file for more information on how to
build the site.
• *OCaml developer*: The [ocaml/ood] repository is where all the data
that drives the site is stored. There are schemas there for videos,
talks, events, workshops, papers, releases and so on. There's a
_lot_ of data from the past 25 years to catch up on there, so
please do feel free to create an issue on the tracker that you are
working on something and start adding it. The OCaml proficiency
level required here is fairly simple.
• *OCaml tooling hacker*: If you are familiar with the OCaml Platform
tools like opam and dune, then you may want to look at the dynamic
[v3.ocaml.org-server] that drives the site and does the
documentation rendering. The backend infrastructure is fairly
complex, but all of the built artefacts are available over HTTP and
the server retrieves them on startup, so you should be able to
develop from the comfort of your own laptop.
• *Language translator*: We have got the infrastructure in place to
handle translated content. If you would be willing to help maintain
a translation to a different language, we'd love to hear from you
as the site content settles.
[issue tracker] <https://github.com/ocaml/v3.ocaml.org>
[ocaml/ood] <https://github.com/ocaml/ood>
[v3.ocaml.org-server] <https://github.com/ocaml/v3.ocaml.org-server>
Team
╌╌╌╌
The immediate team (as of Aug 2021) working on the v3 site consists
of:
• Ashish Agarwal (Solvuu)
• Kanishka Azimi (Solvuu)
• Richard Davison (Solvuu)
• Patrick Ferris (OCaml Labs)
• Gemma Gordon (OCaml Labs)
• Isabella Leandersson (OCaml Labs)
• Anil Madhavapeddy (University of Cambridge)
• Thibault Mattio (Tarides)
• Tim McGilchrist (Tarides)
The documentation generation is courtesy of the odoc development team,
with the site generation done by:
• Jon Ludlam (OCaml Labs)
• Jules Aguillon (Tarides)
• Lucas Pluvinage (Tarides)
• Thibault Mattio (Tarides)
We had three wonderful Outreachy interns help us this year:
• Diksha Gupta is working on automating and expanding v3.ocaml.org's
new and experimental peertube instance for hosting OCaml-related
video content. This required adding functionality into [ood] to
track the videos that have been published.
• Odinaka Joy is prototyping and building an online package service
accessible through a graphQL endpoint in
[v3.ocaml.org-server]. During the internship Joy has also prototyped
js_of_ocaml web applications for consuming the data from the
endpoint.
• Shreya Kumari Gupta has been a driving force in porting more
content, pages and designs into v3 including adding all of the
academic institutions that use OCaml into [ood].
The site of course depends on a very large number of community
published libraries in opam, as well as the Rescript compiler. There's
a lot of work left to do to improve the site and we warmly welcome
more volunteers to assist us. If you'd like to join the ocaml.org
website team, get in touch with Ashish Agarwal or Anil Madhavapeddy
and we'd be pleased to help you onboard. You can also look at the
various issue trackers for labelled issues on tasks that need to be
completed.
Thank you to Xavier Leroy, Gabriel Scherer, David Allsopp, Thomas
Gazagnaire, Frederic Bour, Florian Angeletti, Ashish Agarwal and many
others for feedback on this post, and for Patrick Ferris and Bella
Leandersson for helping to write it.
[ood] <https://github.com/ocaml/ood>
[v3.ocaml.org-server] <https://github.com/ocaml/v3.ocaml.org-server>
Patrick Ferris said
───────────────────
As a part of the team that started thinking about v3.ocaml.org back in
Autumn 2020, it is incredibly rewarding and encouraging to see such a
positive response and constructive feedback to the new,
work-in-progress version of the site. A lot of deliberation and effort
has gone into what we currently have and now that is publicly
available, hopefully will gain community support and momentum to
improve it further. I thought I'd answer some of the questions people
have here.
Also, there is a bit of an overlap in content with
[https://ocamlverse.github.io/ ] for some things (eg best
practices, community) but the (to me) most valuable
feature is missing: The ecosystems overview, where I can
find packages sorted thematically. Could such a section
also have a place in the packages subpage somewhere?
Alternatively, maybe opam can allow to “tag” packages in
the future so one could see all packages for graphics,
databases etc.
Indeed. Much like the OCaml compiler itself, the "main" ocaml.org
website has a commitment to backwards compatibility as well as new
content and features. What I mean by this is we are trying to
incorporate everything in <https://github.com/ocaml/ocaml.org> as well
as creating new content/features. This inevitably makes things a
little slower, but [best practices are in the works].
Afaik opam already has tags they are just not used that widely or in a
standardised way for indicating things like `graphics', `databases'
etc. (in fact the [server reads them]). If some consensus was reached
on this it should be a fairly straightforward and useful feature to
add. In the meantime we could [certainly add curated lists of packages
to ood] :)).
as someone who hasn’t used, but has been considering jsoo
vs rescript for the FE of a project, I’m curious why
ReScript was chosen over JSOO for the website FE?
When making the technology choices, the main reasoning was "use the
right tool for the job". In my opinion (as an avid jsoo user) for what
we wanted jsoo makes little sense. The Rescript frontend is
essentially bindings to Nextjs (plus any other libraries from the JS
universe that are needed). Rescript has good JSX support, integrates
well with the npm world, has (arguably…) better FFI support with JS
etc. When we need jsoo (e.g. the experimental plan to have integrated
toplevels for packages) then we'll reach for it.
That's not to say you can't use jsoo for front-end work, for example
there are bindings to [reactjs] and FRP libraries like [brr +
note]. Another very flexible way for building static sites with a
sprinkling of JS when needed is using OCaml for HTML generation and
[alpine.js] for bits of javascript (e.g. the [preview app in ood]).
Importantly, now that the data lives very much separately we're also
not tied to any particular front-end. In fact this allows us to share
all of the data in ocaml.org (I think there's more than people
realise, that was certainly the case for me!) for example I wrote [an
in-complete "terminal rendering" of the data]. Ood could equally be
reused perhaps directly in vscode!
[https://ocamlverse.github.io/ ] <https://ocamlverse.github.io/>
[best practices are in the works] <https://github.com/ocaml/ood/pull/41>
[server reads them]
<https://github.com/ocaml/v3.ocaml.org-server/blob/main/lib/ocamlorg/package.ml#L19>
[certainly add curated lists of packages to ood]
<https://github.com/ocaml/ood/issues/76>
[reactjs] <https://github.com/reason-in-barcelona/jsoo-react>
[brr + note]
<https://erratique.ch/software/brr/doc/Brr_note_kit/index.html>
[alpine.js] <https://github.com/alpinejs/alpine>
[preview app in ood]
<https://github.com/ocaml/ood/blob/main/src/ood-preview/lib/templates/header_template.eml>
[an in-complete "terminal rendering" of the data]
<https://github.com/patricoferris/oodtty>
Software engineer at Wolfram MathCore
═════════════════════════════════════
Archive:
<https://discuss.ocaml.org/t/software-engineer-at-wolfram-mathcore/8369/1>
Leonardo Laguna Ruiz announced
──────────────────────────────
there is a position at the company that I work, Wolfram MathCore. You
can find the full description here:
<https://www.wolframmathcore.com/2021/08/23/wolfram-mathcore-job-posting-senior-software-engineer/>
For this position we use OCaml as the main programming language.
If you have any questions you can contact Jan Brugård at
janb at wolfram.com or send me a message here in discuss.
memprof-limits (first official release): Memory limits, allocation limits, and thread cancellation, with interrupt-safe resources
═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════
Archive:
<https://discuss.ocaml.org/t/ann-memprof-limits-first-official-release-memory-limits-allocation-limits-and-thread-cancellation-with-interrupt-safe-resources/8135/2>
Guillaume Munch-Maccagnoni announced
────────────────────────────────────
My talk at the OCaml workshop about memprof-limits (and reasoning
about exceptions in general) is now available online:
<https://watch.ocaml.org/videos/watch/bc297e85-82dd-4baf-8556-4a3a934978f9>
OCaml Workshop 2021: Live Stream
════════════════════════════════
Archive:
<https://discuss.ocaml.org/t/ocaml-workshop-2021-live-stream/8366/7>
Frédéric Bour announced
───────────────────────
And now on the complete workshop on OCaml.org:
<https://watch.ocaml.org/videos/watch/playlist/7a4ad26a-b8c5-4588-bf2a-4b981fed87f2>.
Goodbye Core_kernel
═══════════════════
Archive: <https://discuss.ocaml.org/t/goodbye-core-kernel/8393/1>
Jérémie Dimino announced
────────────────────────
Hi, just a heads up that the [Core_kernel] library from Jane Street
will eventually disappear, leaving place to only [Base] and
[Core]. More details in this blog post on our website:
<https://blog.janestreet.com/goodbye-Core_kernel/>
This change is good but is not backward compatible. We have a few
ideas to make the transition smoother in opam, but we haven't settled
on a concrete plan yet.
[Core_kernel] <https://github.com/janestreet/core_kernel>
[Base] <https://opensource.janestreet.com/base/>
[Core] <https://opensource.janestreet.com/core/>
Old CWN
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[Alan Schmitt]
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