OVERVIEW:
Objective Caml is an implementation of the ML language, based on
the Caml Light dialect extended with a complete class-based object system
and a powerful module system in the style of Standard ML.
Objective Caml comprises two compilers. One generates bytecode
which is then interpreted by a C program. This compiler runs quickly,
generates compact code with moderate memory requirements, and is
portable to essentially any 32 or 64 bit Unix platform. Performance of
generated programs is quite good for a bytecoded implementation:
almost twice as fast as Caml Light 0.7. This compiler can be used
either as a standalone, batch-oriented compiler that produces
standalone programs, or as an interactive, toplevel-based system.
The other compiler generates high-performance native code for a number
of processors. Compilation takes longer and generates bigger code, but
the generated programs deliver excellent performance (better than
Standard ML of New Jersey 1.09 on our tests), while retaining the
moderate memory requirements of the bytecode compiler. The native-code
compiler currently runs on the following platforms:
Alpha processors: all Digital Alpha machines under Digital Unix or Linux
Sparc processors: Sun Sparc under SunOS 4.1, Solaris 2, NetBSD, Linux
Intel Pentium processors: PCs under Linux, NextStep, FreeBSD, Solaris 2
Mips processors: SGI workstations and mainframes under IRIX 6
HP PA-RISC processors: HP 9000/700 under HPUX 9 and NextStep
PowerPC processors: IBM RS6000 and PowerPC workstations under AIX 3.2,
PowerMacintosh under MkLinux, LinuxPPC, Rhapsody
Motorola 680x0 processors: Sun 3 under SunOS
Strong ARM processors: Corel Netwinder under Linux
DOCUMENTATION:
The Objective Caml manual is distributed in HTML, PDF, Postscript, and
DVI. It can be obtained by anonymous FTP from ftp.inria.fr as
described below. It is also available on the World Wide Web, at
WWW: http://caml.inria.fr/ocaml/
AVAILABILITY:
The complete Objective Caml distribution resides on ftp.inria.fr,
and can be accessed by anonymous FTP:
host: ftp.inria.fr (192.93.2.54)
directory: lang/caml-light
or through a Web browser at ftp://ftp.inria.fr/lang/caml-light/
