[Ocaml-lib-devel] What is SF-ExtLib exactly?

[Martin J. <mar...@em...>]

Hi ExtLibs,

I would like to know the exact purpose of the sourceforge.net ExtLib
(let's call it SF-ExtLib).
This is taken from the web page:

> ExtLib is a project aiming at providing a complete - yet small - standard
> library for the OCaml programming langage. The purpose of this library is
> to add new functions to OCaml Standard Library modules, to modify some
> functions in order to get better performances or more safety
> (tail-recursive) but also to provide new modules which should be useful
> for the average OCaml programmer.

> ExtLib is not directly related to OCaml authors (INRIA) although this
> library can be seen as a proposal for inclusion in the official
> distribution.

Is SF-ExtLib supposed to be used from right now in serious projects?

Is it supposed to replace the INRIA standard library?

Why is there no answer from the SF-ExtLib team when I (or others) post
some code? This is very disappointing.

If SF-ExtLib is supposed to build a standard, then what are the guidelines
for creating this standard?

The other ExtLib (from Shawn Wagner, let's call it SW-ExtLib) does not
intend to become a standard, as far as I can read:

> Extlib contains a lot of the routines I find myself needing all the time
> that aren't in the standard library (Especially string searching and
> manipulation), and some other odds and ends that are useful at times.
> Highlights include wildcard globbing, lots of string searching and
> manipulation routines, locale support, ~user-style path expansion, and
> more.



As an independent OCaml user, I would like a separation between
general-purpose stuff and specialized libraries.
general-purpose = used in various kinds of applications (but maybe not
everyday)
specialized = used in very specific situations (but maybe everyday)
I can imagine:
- one library that provides lots of goodies that do not rely on other
existing libraries but are boring or difficult to implement. They do NOT
need to be required everyday by everyone.
- some libraries, like many already exist, for doing specialized
things. Especially the implementation of standard protocols or binding to
such libraries written in foreign languages.


Very personal view: I don't care much about standards as far as I can
include the (possibly modified) source code of the general-purpose
library in my software distributions in either source or binary form.


Martin