Originally an acronym for Categorical Abstract Machine Language, Caml is a multi-paradigm, functional, object-oriented, general-purpose programming language derived from ML, and is part of the ML family of languages.
Developed in France at the National Institute for Research in Computer Science and Automation (Inria) and École Normale Supérieure (ENS), the language first appeared in 1985. The first implementation of the language was written in Lisp. The second implementation, known as Caml Light, was written in C, at which time the original was referred to, informally, as Heavy Caml, a reference to its higher memory and CPU requirements. Caml Special Light was a further rewrite of the language, adding a module system. A new implementation of Caml, known as OCaml, adds other features to the language, including an object layer.
Like most of the languages in the ML family, Caml is statically typed, strictly evaluated, and uses automatic memory management.
Caml, or any of its implementation, are the focus of this category, including any IDEs, editors, or other tools designed for Caml programming, as well as any user groups, forums, guides, or tutorials.
Recommended Resources
Described as an industrial-strength programming language supporting functional, imperative, and object-oriented styles, OCaml is currently the major implementation of Caml. The official site for the language presents an overview of the language, its user groups, code examples, and tutorials, as well as package documentation, manuals, and cheat sheets. The OCaml Package manager may be freely downloaded from the site, giving access to multiple versions of hundreds of packages.
https://ocaml.org/
Opam is a source-based package manager for the OCaml programming language. Supporting multiple simultaneous compiler installations, flexible package constraints, and Git-friendly development workflow, it may be downloaded from the site. Installation and upgrade instructions are given, including using the distribution’s package system. Instructions on the use of Opam are included, such as tricks, packaging, distribution, and external solvers. Development notes are posted.
https://opam.ocaml.org/
Real World OCaml: Functional Programming for the Masses
Written by Yaron Minsky, Anil Madhavapeddy, and Jason Hickey, and published by O’Reilly, two versions of the book on the OCaml programming language are currently available, Version 1, and a Development Version. Version 1 is the original version, as published in 2003, while the Development Version is an in-progression revision of the book, recognizing the years of advances in OCaml’s libraries and tooling. They may be read online for free or purchased from online retailers.
https://realworldocaml.org/
The original official site for the Caml programming language is updated infrequently but includes documentation of the language between 1995 and 2013, such as a description of Caml, OCaml, and Caml Light, as well as other resources for Caml users. The strengths of the language are illustrated, along with a list of success stories of applications developed by the language. Downloads of earlier versions of the language are available for download, with documentation.
http://caml.inria.fr/
