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

Tue Feb 14 00:12:47 PST 2023

Hello

Here is the latest OCaml Weekly News, for the week of February 07 to 14,
2023.

Table of Contents
─────────────────

Could merlin be compiled with js_of_ocaml and work in the browser
Opine 0.1.0 - Python source code transformations in OCaml
Paul Biggar on Darklang
Seppo.Social v0.1 and Request for Comments
List your open OCaml positions on the OCaml.org job board
Available for Hire - Q1 2023
Timedesc 1.0.0 - modern date time handling
Major updates to kcas in 0.1.8 and 0.2.0
Old CWN

Could merlin be compiled with js_of_ocaml and work in the browser
═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

  Archive:
  <https://discuss.ocaml.org/t/could-merlin-be-compiled-with-js-of-ocaml-and-work-in-the-browser/11364/1>

Haochen Kotoi-Xie asked
───────────────────────

  As the title asks: could merlin be compiled with js_of_ocaml and work
  in the browser? Has anyone attempted it?

  Background: we’d like to make a real web only editor for simple ocaml
  projects. The features we are looking to provide with merlin is
  acurate type aware completion and display of module signatures.

Patrick Ferris replied
──────────────────────

  Yes! See the great work here: <https://github.com/voodoos/merlin-js>
  with an example <https://voodoos.github.io/merlin-js/>. I’ve used it
  with <https://patricoferris.github.io/try-eio/> too.

Patrick Ferris then said
────────────────────────

  Thank you, glad you like it! We’ve ended up where we are thanks to
  various bits of hacking from @tmattio, @jonludlam, @voodoos (and I’m
  sure others!) and of course the jsoo contributors. This is how the
  OCaml.org playground works (although I think it lost merlin.js in the
  switch to OCaml 5).

  Another nice feature (thanks to @jonludlam!) that might not be
  immediately apparent is that all of the OCaml evaluation is happening
  in a browser *worker* meaning it never blocks the UI (the adventurous
  can try `while true do () done' ^^), which has nice story if we
  compiled notebook style exercises to the browser or something like
  that.

Later on, Louis Gesbert said
────────────────────────────

  Not exactly what you are asking for, but [learn-ocaml] does _that
  kind_ of stuff, taking user-supplied ml code, applying some custom
  validations to its AST, then compiling and running it against a
  pre-defined solution. This and its sibling [try-ocaml] have had
  evaluation in a worker for a long time too — you can’t really ask
  students to reload the page after an accidental infinite recursion.

  They lack the merlin integration though :slight_smile:

[learn-ocaml] <https://github.com/ocaml-sf/learn-ocaml/>

[try-ocaml] <https://try.ocaml.pro>

Opine 0.1.0 - Python source code transformations in OCaml
═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

  Archive:
  <https://discuss.ocaml.org/t/ann-opine-0-1-0-python-source-code-transformations-in-ocaml/11365/1>

Arul announced
──────────────

  [pyre-ast] is an OCaml library that provides python AST representation
  in OCaml.

  I had a need to do python source code transformations in OCaml. So, I
  made [Opine] to do transformations on the AST and convert it back to
  python. So, in OCaml, you can write python code now, if you ever need
  to.

  P.S. It still doesn’t support the entire python syntax 100%. I haven’t
  added support for things like for-comprehension but it should be
  fairly easy to add it. I plan to add support for the missing ones as I
  need it for my projects.

[pyre-ast] <https://github.com/grievejia/pyre-ast>

[Opine] <https://github.com/ArulselvanMadhavan/opine>

Paul Biggar on Darklang
═══════════════════════

  Archive: <https://discuss.ocaml.org/t/paul-biggar-on-darklang/11370/1>

Claude Jager-Rubinson announced
───────────────────────────────

  You may remember Paul Biggar’s series of blog posts on the process and
  decision to rewrite his Dark programming language in F#, which was
  originally written in OCaml:

  • [https://blog.darklang.com/leaving-ocaml/]
  • [https://blog.darklang.com/why-dark-didnt-choose-rust/]
  • [https://blog.darklang.com/new-backend-fsharp/]

  Paul will be speaking about Dark at next week’s meeting of the Houston
  Functional Programming Users’ Group. Although he’s not planning to
  specifically focus on the OCaml -> F# rewrite; I’m certainly planning
  to ask him about the experience, costs and benefits, etc. :wink: If
  you’re in the Houston area, please join us in person at Improving.
  Everybody else can join us online, via Zoom. Complete details and
  connection info are available on our website at [https://hfpug.org].

[https://blog.darklang.com/leaving-ocaml/]
<https://blog.darklang.com/leaving-ocaml/>

[https://blog.darklang.com/why-dark-didnt-choose-rust/]
<https://blog.darklang.com/why-dark-didnt-choose-rust/>

[https://blog.darklang.com/new-backend-fsharp/]
<https://blog.darklang.com/new-backend-fsharp/>

[https://hfpug.org] <https://hfpug.org>

Seppo.Social v0.1 and Request for Comments
══════════════════════════════════════════

  Archive:
  <https://discuss.ocaml.org/t/ann-seppo-social-v0-1-and-request-for-comments/11375/1>

🌍 Marcus Rohrmoser announced
─────────────────────────────

  I am happy to announce the premiere release of #Seppo!, Personal
  Social Media under funding of NLnet.nl.

  Find it at <https://Seppo.Social/downloads/>

  It has no notable user facing ActivityPub features so far, but

  • easy setup of instance & account,
  • webfinger discoverability (from e.g. mastodon search),
  • a welcoming, long-term reliable website.

  I made this embarrassingly limited release to build awareness for
  low-barrier-entry internet services in general and especially in the
  field of personal communication as well as letting the #fediverse and
  permacomputing communities know.

  Your comments are very much appreciated.

List your open OCaml positions on the OCaml.org job board
═════════════════════════════════════════════════════════

  Archive:
  <https://discuss.ocaml.org/t/list-your-open-ocaml-positions-on-the-ocaml-org-job-board/11377/1>

Sabine Schmaltz announced
─────────────────────────

  Job postings for OCaml programmers are welcome on the official OCaml
  website at <https://ocaml.org/jobs>.

  1. Postings must be for jobs that primarily involve working with the
     OCaml language and should link to a detailed job description.
  2. *Postings by outside recruiters are not permitted under any
      circumstances. You may only post jobs at your own firm.*
  3. It is permitted to have one “spontaneous application” listing per
     company.

  To add a job listing, edit
  <https://github.com/ocaml/ocaml.org/blob/main/data/jobs.yml> and make
  a pull request.

  Alternatively, for the time being, you can fill in the template and
  reply to this thread. Here’s an example:
  ┌────
  │ title: Spontaneous Application
  │ link: https://tarides.com/jobs/spontaneous-application
  │ location: Remote
  │ publication_date: 2021-10-17
  │ company: Tarides
  │ company_logo: https://tarides.com/static/logo_tarides-52f91b59a8657d768e013129896b63e0.png
  └────

  <https://ocaml.org/jobs>

  We shamelessly took inspiration from the jobs category description at
  <https://discuss.ocaml.org/t/about-the-jobs-category/1120>. :)

Sabine Schmaltz later added
───────────────────────────

  It’s fine to advertise paid projects aimed at contractors or
  freelancers on the job board. You don’t need to offer full-time or
  even part-time employment. (I’ll mention that in the guidelines
  above.)

  I would suggest to use “Contract”, “Project”, or “Freelance” in the
  job title, depending on the exact nature of the work - to make it
  obvious to people looking for opportunities that it’s not a long-term
  position.

Fabrice Le Fessant announced
────────────────────────────

  Here is an offer for OCamlPro:

  ┌────
  │ title: Jobs at OCamlPro
  │ link: https://ocamlpro.com/jobs/
  │ location: France
  │ publication_date: 2023-02-10
  │ company: OCamlPro
  │ company_logo: https://ocamlpro.com/assets/img/logo_ocamlpro.png
  └────

  Thanks a lot !

Available for Hire - Q1 2023
════════════════════════════

  Archive:
  <https://discuss.ocaml.org/t/available-for-hire-q1-2023/11389/1>

Sabine Schmaltz announced
─────────────────────────

  Here’s a thread to announce your availability as an OCaml developer
  looking for an OCaml job. :rocket:

  Freelancers, contractors and job-seekers, do advertise your services
  and experience here.

  Let’s start this off with quarterly threads. If we find it gets too
  spammy, we can always switch to a monthly format later. :smile:

Axel Baudot
───────────

  Software engineer with experience in Backend development.

  Looking for a position as Backend or Fullstack Engineer using OCaml or
  related tech. Happy to work on tooling or R&D subjects projects too.

  I wish to work remotely and will be located in Montreal soon. No
  problem with async or partial workday overlap on my side.

  Professional experience: Essentially backend development in
  Python/Django. Some system design and integration on autonomous drones
  and blimps at Airbus.

  Functional experience: I have taught Elm to high schoolers and used
  SML, Caml Lite in academic settings. Working on the capstone project
  of the Scala specialization on Coursera these days.

Timedesc 1.0.0 - modern date time handling
══════════════════════════════════════════

  Archive:
  <https://discuss.ocaml.org/t/ann-timedesc-1-0-0-modern-date-time-handling/11386/1>

Darren announced
────────────────

  I’m pleased to announce the release of Timedesc 1.0.0

  Timedesc is a very comprehensive date time handling library with good
  support of time zones.

  [Homepage]

[Homepage] <https://github.com/daypack-dev/timere>

Features (before 1.0.0)
╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌

  • Timestamp and date time handling with platform independent time zone
    support
    • Subset of the IANA time zone database is built into this library
  • Supports Gregorian calendar date, ISO week date, and ISO ordinal
    date
  • Supports nanosecond precision
  • ISO8601 parsing and RFC3339 printing

New feature in 1.0.0
╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌╌

  • RFC9110 (HTTP) date time parsing and printing

Major updates to kcas in 0.1.8 and 0.2.0
════════════════════════════════════════

  Archive:
  <https://discuss.ocaml.org/t/ann-major-updates-to-kcas-in-0-1-8-and-0-2-0/11392/1>

Vesa Karvonen announced
───────────────────────

  I’m happy to announce that the [kcas] library has received major
  updates.

  What is kcas?

        kcas provides an implementation of atomic lock-free
        multi-word compare-and-swap (MCAS), which is a powerful
        tool for designing concurrent algorithms.

  First, kcas now uses a new lock-free algorithm that improves
  performance of kcas significantly over the previously used algorithm.
  The new algorithm is provided in kcas version 0.1.8 with an API
  compatible with previous versions of kcas.

  Second, the latest version of kcas, 0.2.0, went through a major API
  redesign. The same functionality as can be found in previous versions
  is now available through cleaned-up modules. Additionally, the latest
  library offers [a new transactional API], essentially a basic form of
  STM or Software Transactional Memory, that can make it significantly
  easier to program lock-free algorithms.

  Third, documentation has also been overhauled and there is now both an
  introduction to the use of the library as well as a reference manual.

  So, click [here], check out the new documentation, the new
  transactional API, and enjoy the performance!

  Last, there is still more to come. The are plans to extend the range
  of the library further via [a brand-new algorithm] and [extended
  support for transactions].

[kcas] <https://github.com/ocaml-multicore/kcas/>

[a new transactional API]
<https://ocaml-multicore.github.io/kcas/doc/kcas/Kcas/Tx/index.html>

[here] <https://github.com/ocaml-multicore/kcas/#readme>

[a brand-new algorithm]
<https://github.com/ocaml-multicore/kcas/pull/24>

[extended support for transactions]
<https://github.com/ocaml-multicore/kcas/issues/25>

Old CWN
═══════

  If you happen to miss a CWN, you can [send me a message] and I’ll mail
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  [Alan Schmitt]

[send me a message] <mailto:alan.schmitt at polytechnique.org>

[the archive] <https://alan.petitepomme.net/cwn/>

[RSS feed of the archives] <https://alan.petitepomme.net/cwn/cwn.rss>

[online] <http://lists.idyll.org/listinfo/caml-news-weekly/>

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

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