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<a href="./Home">MLton 20130715</a>
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<h1>OCaml</h1>
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<div id="content">
<div id="preamble">
<div class="sectionbody">
<div class="paragraph"><p><a href="http://caml.inria.fr/">OCaml</a> is a variant of <a href="ML">ML</a> and is similar to
<a href="StandardML">Standard ML</a>.</p></div>
</div>
</div>
<div class="sect1">
<h2 id="_ocaml_and_sml">OCaml and SML</h2>
<div class="sectionbody">
<div class="paragraph"><p>Here&#8217;s a comparison of some aspects of the OCaml and SML languages.</p></div>
<div class="ulist"><ul>
<li>
<p>
Standard ML has a formal <a href="DefinitionOfStandardML">Definition</a>, while
OCaml is specified by its lone implementation and informal
documentation.
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
Standard ML has a number of <a href="StandardMLImplementations">compilers</a>,
while OCaml has only one.
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
OCaml has built-in support for object-oriented programming, while
Standard ML does not (however, see <a href="ObjectOrientedProgramming">ObjectOrientedProgramming</a>).
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
Andreas Rossberg has a
<a href="http://www.mpi-sws.org/%7Erossberg/sml-vs-ocaml.html">side-by-side
comparison</a> of the syntax of SML and OCaml.
</p>
</li>
</ul></div>
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</div>
<div class="sect1">
<h2 id="_ocaml_and_mlton">OCaml and MLton</h2>
<div class="sectionbody">
<div class="paragraph"><p>Here&#8217;s a comparison of some aspects of OCaml and MLton.</p></div>
<div class="ulist"><ul>
<li>
<p>
Performance
</p>
<div class="ulist"><ul>
<li>
<p>
Both OCaml and MLton have excellent performance.
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
MLton performs extensive <a href="WholeProgramOptimization">WholeProgramOptimization</a>, which can
provide substantial improvements in large, modular programs.
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
MLton uses native types, like 32-bit integers, without any penalty
due to tagging or boxing.  OCaml uses 31-bit integers with a penalty
due to tagging, and 32-bit integers with a penalty due to boxing.
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
MLton uses native types, like 64-bit floats, without any penalty
due to boxing.  OCaml, in some situations, boxes 64-bit floats.
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
MLton represents arrays of all types unboxed.  In OCaml, only
arrays of 64-bit floats are unboxed, and then only when it is
syntactically apparent.
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
MLton represents records compactly by reordering and packing the
fields.
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
In MLton, polymorphic and monomorphic code have the same
performance.  In OCaml, polymorphism can introduce a performance
penalty.
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
In MLton, module boundaries have no impact on performance.  In
OCaml, moving code between modules can cause a performance penalty.
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
MLton&#8217;s <a href="ForeignFunctionInterface">ForeignFunctionInterface</a> is simpler than OCaml&#8217;s.
</p>
</li>
</ul></div>
</li>
<li>
<p>
Tools
</p>
<div class="ulist"><ul>
<li>
<p>
OCaml has a debugger, while MLton does not.
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
OCaml supports separate compilation, while MLton does not.
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
OCaml compiles faster than MLton.
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
MLton supports profiling of both time and allocation.
</p>
</li>
</ul></div>
</li>
<li>
<p>
Libraries
</p>
<div class="ulist"><ul>
<li>
<p>
OCaml has more available libraries.
</p>
</li>
</ul></div>
</li>
<li>
<p>
Community
</p>
<div class="ulist"><ul>
<li>
<p>
OCaml has a larger community than MLton.
</p>
</li>
<li>
<p>
MLton has a very responsive
   <a href="http://www.mlton.org/mailman/listinfo/mlton">developer list</a>.
</p>
</li>
</ul></div>
</li>
</ul></div>
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