5 ms·

Playing Atari games in OCaml

74 points by lnyan 3y ago

Buttons840 3y ago
I first encountered OCaml's PyTorch bindings because apparently they generate a C wrapper around PyTorch's C++ API, and Rust's PyTorch bindings use OCaml's C wrapper. See: https://github.com/LaurentMazare/tch-rs https://github.com/LaurentMazare/tch-rs
anta40 3y ago
Arrghhh.... why do I read this as "Writing Atari games in OCaml"? Almost jump out of my chair. Guess I need a short break....
- xvilka 3y ago
  It isn't impossible - looks like someone is working on restoring m68k support in OCaml[1] which was removed earlier[2]. [1] https://lists.debian.org/debian-68k/2021/12/msg00009.html https://lists.debian.org/debian-68k/2021/12/msg00009.html [2] https://github.com/ocaml/ocaml/tree/annot-from-lambda/asmcomp/m68k https://github.com/ocaml/ocaml/tree/annot-from-lambda/asmcom...
  - lmm 3y ago
    "The" Atari (the 2600) used essentially a 6502, which is quite a lot earlier and simpler than the 68k.
    - xvilka 3y ago
      Ah, I didn't check the article which Atari they refer to. I doubt it's possible to port modern OCaml GC to 6502 then.
      - toast0 3y ago
        Not sure if GC is appropriate for a system with 128 bytes of ram.
        eru 3y ago
        A more useful approach would probably be to use a special OCaml program to emit code for the Atari 2600, instead of using the general purpose OCaml compiler to translate OCaml code directly.
reedf1 3y ago
Oh jane street the OCaml gods. Don't mention you know anything about OCaml in an interview with them unless you want to be grilled to death.
Labo333 3y ago
Is this guy paid by a quant firm to implement classical algorithms that are not directly related to their activity, just for the sake of PR? Sign me in!
- dna_polymerase 3y ago
  Laurent Mazare also was a guest in their podcast series [0]. He seems to be part of their research division, which should be the part of the company that produces their most valuable output. [0]: https://signalsandthreads.com/python-ocaml-and-machine-learning/ https://signalsandthreads.com/python-ocaml-and-machine-learn...
- pawelmurias 3y ago
  If you are using a niche/weird language like OCaml having a bunch of smart people work on porting useful things seems helpfull.
- segmondy 3y ago
  this is about machine learning with Ocaml, it is very strongly related to what Janestreet does.
koala_man 3y ago
Huh, I rejected the cookie popup and it just said > You have indicated that you do not want to be cookied by us. If you continue on our site, you are agreeing to our Ad and Cookie Policy. If you do not agree, please navigate away from this site.

74 points by lnyan 3y ago

I first encountered OCaml's PyTorch bindings because apparently they generate a C wrapper around PyTorch's C++ API, and Rust's PyTorch bindings use OCaml's C wrapper. See: https://github.com/LaurentMazare/tch-rs https://github.com/LaurentMazare/tch-rs

anta40 3y ago

Arrghhh.... why do I read this as "Writing Atari games in OCaml"? Almost jump out of my chair. Guess I need a short break....

xvilka 3y ago
It isn't impossible - looks like someone is working on restoring m68k support in OCaml[1] which was removed earlier[2]. [1] https://lists.debian.org/debian-68k/2021/12/msg00009.html https://lists.debian.org/debian-68k/2021/12/msg00009.html [2] https://github.com/ocaml/ocaml/tree/annot-from-lambda/asmcomp/m68k https://github.com/ocaml/ocaml/tree/annot-from-lambda/asmcom...
- lmm 3y ago
  "The" Atari (the 2600) used essentially a 6502, which is quite a lot earlier and simpler than the 68k.
  - xvilka 3y ago
    Ah, I didn't check the article which Atari they refer to. I doubt it's possible to port modern OCaml GC to 6502 then.
    - toast0 3y ago
      Not sure if GC is appropriate for a system with 128 bytes of ram.
      - eru 3y ago
        A more useful approach would probably be to use a special OCaml program to emit code for the Atari 2600, instead of using the general purpose OCaml compiler to translate OCaml code directly.

reedf1 3y ago

Oh jane street the OCaml gods. Don't mention you know anything about OCaml in an interview with them unless you want to be grilled to death.

Labo333 3y ago

Is this guy paid by a quant firm to implement classical algorithms that are not directly related to their activity, just for the sake of PR? Sign me in!

dna_polymerase 3y ago
Laurent Mazare also was a guest in their podcast series [0]. He seems to be part of their research division, which should be the part of the company that produces their most valuable output. [0]: https://signalsandthreads.com/python-ocaml-and-machine-learning/ https://signalsandthreads.com/python-ocaml-and-machine-learn...
pawelmurias 3y ago
If you are using a niche/weird language like OCaml having a bunch of smart people work on porting useful things seems helpfull.
segmondy 3y ago
this is about machine learning with Ocaml, it is very strongly related to what Janestreet does.

koala_man 3y ago

Huh, I rejected the cookie popup and it just said > You have indicated that you do not want to be cookied by us. If you continue on our site, you are agreeing to our Ad and Cookie Policy. If you do not agree, please navigate away from this site.