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As an aside I just discovered that Reason (alternative syntax for Ocaml) had been forked by the Bucklescript (Ocaml/Reason to JS compiler) team. The fork is cal

As an aside I just discovered that Reason (alternative syntax for Ocaml) had been forked by the Bucklescript (Ocaml/Reason to JS compiler) team. The fork is called Rescript and is aims at being a new language and to part with Ocaml. Rescript is also the new name of Bucklescript (compiler) btw. If you don't get any of this, I don't blame you. Here's a thorough explanation of this mess : https://ersin-akinci.medium.com/confused-about-rescript-rescript-reason-reasonml-and-bucklescript-explained-ab4230555230 https://ersin-akinci.medium.com/confused-about-rescript-resc... The confusing part is that some people decided to name a whole ecosystem project with a name that reads like it's a language (ReasonML) and some other had the wonderful idea to name a compiler that also reads like it's a language (Bucklescript) but to make it more simple they changed the name to... Rescript, but wait now it's also the name of the language. Oh and also Reason calls itself a programming language (when it's just an alternate syntax). Brilliant.

antron-prime 6y ago
...and just to make it slightly more confusing, ReScript changed the ReasonML language somewhat, prompting another fork, Melange, which sticks with ReasonML. In any case, Dream has examples showing full-stack (OCaml client+server) usage with both ReScript and Melange: - ReScript: https://github.com/aantron/dream/tree/master/example/w-fullstack-rescript#files https://github.com/aantron/dream/tree/master/example/w-fulls... - Melange: https://github.com/aantron/dream/tree/master/example/r-fullstack-melange#files https://github.com/aantron/dream/tree/master/example/r-fulls... For good measure, there is also an example with the other OCaml-to-JS compiler... - Js_of_ocaml: https://github.com/aantron/dream/tree/master/example/w-fullstack-jsoo#files https://github.com/aantron/dream/tree/master/example/w-fulls...
- cassepipe 6y ago
  Oh I did not know about Melange, thanks I am so glad somebody made the effort of porting supporting latest reason syntax !
- nerdponx 6y ago
  Anecdote: I was all ready to start learning Reason/Rescript, and then I saw the confusing stew of renames and forks. I changed my mind, and I don't plan on touching it until something settles out. As an outsider with respect to the community, I can't think of a bigger impediment to adoption than a scenario like this. Apart from something catastrophic like a BDFL ghosting or going closed source.
  - antron-prime 6y ago
    Many people, including me, were pretty bummed out by that whole process. There was a definite dip in activity for a while. I also stayed away, because for me, it was basically more churn at a time when I was already feeling burned out. I learned from all this, that at least for the near term, OCaml is by far the most stable part of the... OCaml ecosystem :) I'm fine with that, since I started out with OCaml and like it, but I do worry for everyone that prefers JS-like syntax and wants to do a lot of client-side programming.
    - e12e 6y ago
      I'm still confused - is there a set of syntax/language/compilers that will allow me to have one codebase, one syntax, and run the server as native code (possibly with nodejs as an option) - and use same language for the front-end? As far as I understand it - with ReScript, deploying via ocaml compile to native is not supported - you get nodejs as the server?
      - nathcd 6y ago
        > is there a set of syntax/language/compilers that will allow me to have one codebase, one syntax, and run the server as native code (possibly with nodejs as an option) - and use same language for the front-end? You can use the normal OCaml syntax with the main OCaml compiler and the js_of_ocaml compiler. If you just want something in the ecosystem that's boring and reliable these are almost certainly the way to go.
        antron-prime 6y ago
Touche 6y ago
I don't understand what an "ecosystem project" even means. Every language has an ecosystem. There isn't a separate name for the ecosystem. Why is there here?

antron-prime 6y ago

...and just to make it slightly more confusing, ReScript changed the ReasonML language somewhat, prompting another fork, Melange, which sticks with ReasonML. In any case, Dream has examples showing full-stack (OCaml client+server) usage with both ReScript and Melange: - ReScript: https://github.com/aantron/dream/tree/master/example/w-fullstack-rescript#files https://github.com/aantron/dream/tree/master/example/w-fulls... - Melange: https://github.com/aantron/dream/tree/master/example/r-fullstack-melange#files https://github.com/aantron/dream/tree/master/example/r-fulls... For good measure, there is also an example with the other OCaml-to-JS compiler... - Js_of_ocaml: https://github.com/aantron/dream/tree/master/example/w-fullstack-jsoo#files https://github.com/aantron/dream/tree/master/example/w-fulls...

cassepipe 6y ago
Oh I did not know about Melange, thanks I am so glad somebody made the effort of porting supporting latest reason syntax !
nerdponx 6y ago
Anecdote: I was all ready to start learning Reason/Rescript, and then I saw the confusing stew of renames and forks. I changed my mind, and I don't plan on touching it until something settles out. As an outsider with respect to the community, I can't think of a bigger impediment to adoption than a scenario like this. Apart from something catastrophic like a BDFL ghosting or going closed source.
- antron-prime 6y ago
  Many people, including me, were pretty bummed out by that whole process. There was a definite dip in activity for a while. I also stayed away, because for me, it was basically more churn at a time when I was already feeling burned out. I learned from all this, that at least for the near term, OCaml is by far the most stable part of the... OCaml ecosystem :) I'm fine with that, since I started out with OCaml and like it, but I do worry for everyone that prefers JS-like syntax and wants to do a lot of client-side programming.
  - e12e 6y ago
    I'm still confused - is there a set of syntax/language/compilers that will allow me to have one codebase, one syntax, and run the server as native code (possibly with nodejs as an option) - and use same language for the front-end? As far as I understand it - with ReScript, deploying via ocaml compile to native is not supported - you get nodejs as the server?
    - nathcd 6y ago
      > is there a set of syntax/language/compilers that will allow me to have one codebase, one syntax, and run the server as native code (possibly with nodejs as an option) - and use same language for the front-end? You can use the normal OCaml syntax with the main OCaml compiler and the js_of_ocaml compiler. If you just want something in the ecosystem that's boring and reliable these are almost certainly the way to go.
      - antron-prime 6y ago

Touche 6y ago

I don't understand what an "ecosystem project" even means. Every language has an ecosystem. There isn't a separate name for the ecosystem. Why is there here?