Date: Thu, 23 Jan 1997 08:37:49 -0800
Message-Id: <199701231637.IAA29239@kronstadt.rahul.net>
From: Ian T Zimmerman <itz@rahul.net>
To: caml-list@inria.fr
Subject: Re: ergonomie du compilateur
In article <199701211254.NAA13357@ithif18.inf.tu-dresden.de> Hendrik
Tews <tews@tcs.inf.tu-dresden.de> writes:
>
> Hello,
>
> I do occasionally program in ocaml. Since David Monniaux started a
> discussion about the error messages of the ocaml compiler I would
> like to add my opinion as well.
>
> Features I dislike:
>
> - There is no error recovery in the compiler. Before I start the
> first compile I have at least 5 syntax errors in the file. In order
> to find them I have to go through at least 5 edit-compile cycles,
> which I find very annoying.
>
> - In case of a syntax error, the compiler never reports what it
> was expecting. For an ocaml beginner which has some experience in
> SML it can be a tough problem to find the error in a line like
>
> type 'a tree = node of 'a * 'a tree * 'a tree
> | leaf;;
>
> since the compiler only says
>
> File "a.ml", line 3, characters 13-14:
> Syntax error
>
> I would consider a message like "Expecting a Constructor, but found
> an identifier" extremely useful.
>
I am working on these (among millions of other non-Caml things), in
the context of Caml Light. If I ever finish it, I'll certainly
contact Ocaml maintainers about a possible port.
-- Ian T Zimmerman <itz@rahul.net> I fully support the President's proposal to test driver's license applicants for drugs. Any plan to reduce driving is worth a try.
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