I chose OCaml as my primary language
11 days ago
- #Programming Languages
- #OCaml
- #Functional Programming
- The author has been using OCaml since 2012 and it has become their preferred language for personal and professional projects.
- OCaml is a multi-paradigm language supporting functional, imperative, modular, and object-oriented programming, as well as multi-core programming since version 5.0.0.
- OCaml features a rich type system with algebraic types (sum, product, and exponential types), static type checking, and type inference.
- The language has a powerful module system that supports separate compilation, encapsulation, and abstraction, making it ideal for large-scale projects.
- OCaml's ecosystem includes tools like OPAM (package manager), Dune (build system), Merlin (editor support), and Odoc (documentation generator).
- OCaml can compile to native code, bytecode, JavaScript (via Js_of_OCaml and Melange), and WebAssembly (via Wasm_of_OCaml).
- The language is closely tied to research, ensuring well-theorized and robust features, while also being used in industry by companies like Jane Street, Meta, and Bloomberg.
- OCaml's community is described as accessible, kind, and brilliant, with strong online presence and support.
- Common myths about OCaml, such as its comparison to F# and the duplication of operators for floats, are addressed and debunked.
- The author concludes that OCaml is a versatile, safe, and expressive language with a growing ecosystem, making it suitable for a wide range of projects.