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Evolving the OCaml Programming Language (2025) [pdf]

(kcsrk.info)
157 points matt_d | 2 comments | 05 Sep 25 00:05 UTC | HN request time: 0s | source
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kcsrk ◴[05 Sep 25 04:03 UTC] No.45134878[source]▶
I am the author of the talk here o/.

This talk is a _subjective_ take on how the OCaml programming language evolves, based on my observations over the last 10 years I've been involved with it. My aim/hope is to demystify the compiler development process and the tradeoffs involved and encourage more developers to take a shot at contributing to the OCaml compiler.

Happy to answer questions, but also, more importantly, hear your comments and criticisms around the compiler development process, ideas to make it more approachable, etc.

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ofrzeta ◴[05 Sep 25 04:58 UTC] No.45135115[source]▶
To be honest the story about the two closed PRs for dynamic arrays doesn't really inspire contributions :)
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1. klodolph ◴[05 Sep 25 05:20 UTC] No.45135208[source]▶
Maybe what I read here is “this is how contributions go”…

Get the API right first. Make sure it’s correct, safe, and useful. Iterate on the performance afterwards.

IMO, a lot of contributions should take this shape.

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2. kcsrk ◴[05 Sep 25 05:29 UTC] No.45135247[source]▶
It is often hard to see the shape of these things before a serious PR attempt is made. Each of the PRs reveals more of the shape of the problem being solved. Hard to skip them in practice, especially for new contributors.