Evolving the OCaml Programming Language (2025) [pdf]

I remember the go to alternative "standard" library was being developed by some bank from Wall Street. Is it still the case? i.e. do most people still use that 3rd party lib or did the real standard library evolve since then?

My impression is that most people, as in a majority, aren't using Jane Street's Base and Core. Maybe some or even many, but not most, and specially not in the FOSS ecosystem. I think this idea comes from so many learning materials using their libs, you feel kind of funneled towards them at the start.

But yes, the standard library has added many helper functions that were sorely needed during the last few years, and the upcoming 5.4 keeps adding more. Still not as many goodies as Jane Street's libraries, but nowadays I don't miss them as long as I can use just a few small libraries, mostly by dbunzli and c-cube.

That's https://opensource.janestreet.com/core/. However I think its importance is often a bit overblown. I doubt MOST people were choosing it at any point, never mind today.

Is stdlib the original then base and core are extensions?

That's my concern for even adopting OCaml for my hobby projects. Poking around Jane Street's "alternative" standard library does not give me much confidence about its state. Just the fact that there are Core and Base isn't encouraging. If I ever use OCaml in a project, I want to spend time getting things done, not looking for implementations or writing code myself (unless I am really in a mood to do so).

Yes, although they're replacements more than extensions. Stdlib is OCaml's builtin standard library, Base is Jane Street's lightweight replacement of Stdlib (although the most basic types are compatible), and Core is Jane Street's full standard library extending Base.

There's nothing inherently wrong with them, aside from their API being unstable, but they're an opinionated wedge in an ecosystem already lacking the cohesion of newer languages.

Hi there, I use OCaml in my hobby projects. You will get this done, if you experiments and find what works for you. Personally, I use Base and Stdlib. Its been enough for my 3 projects so far.

Don't know if this would be of value to you. You can check out my blog built with OCaml, its made from my custome static site generator. https://www.fearful-odds.rocks