From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Received: (from weis@localhost) by pauillac.inria.fr (8.7.6/8.7.3) id DAA03219 for caml-redistribution; Fri, 30 Jul 1999 03:22:25 +0200 (MET DST) Received: from nez-perce.inria.fr (nez-perce.inria.fr [192.93.2.78]) by pauillac.inria.fr (8.7.6/8.7.3) with ESMTP id QAA24279 for ; Wed, 28 Jul 1999 16:47:38 +0200 (MET DST) Received: from nenuphar.saclay.cea.fr (nenuphar.saclay.cea.fr [132.166.192.7]) by nez-perce.inria.fr (8.8.7/8.8.7) with ESMTP id QAA25747 for ; Wed, 28 Jul 1999 16:47:37 +0200 (MET DST) Received: from muguet.saclay.cea.fr (muguet.saclay.cea.fr [132.166.192.6]) by nenuphar.saclay.cea.fr (8.9.1a/8.9.1/CEAnet-relay-5.0.D20) with ESMTP id QAA02193 for ; Wed, 28 Jul 1999 16:47:36 +0200 (MET DST) Received: from harpie.saclay.cea.fr (harpie.saclay.cea.fr [132.166.133.152]) by muguet.saclay.cea.fr (8.9.1a/8.9.1/CEAnet-relay-5.1.D20) with ESMTP id QAA23561; Wed, 28 Jul 1999 16:47:35 +0200 (MET DST) Received: by harpie.saclay.cea.fr (8.8.8+Sun/CEANET.2.0.1) id QAA08778; Wed, 28 Jul 1999 16:47:35 +0200 (MET DST) From: STARYNKEVITCH Basile MIME-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Message-ID: <14239.6150.864319.797849@gargle.gargle.HOWL> Date: Wed, 28 Jul 1999 16:47:34 +0200 (MET DST) To: caml-list@inria.fr Subject: convincing management to switch to Ocaml X-Mailer: VM 6.72 under Emacs 20.4.1 Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Content-Transfer-Encoding: 8bit Sender: weis Hello, Does any one have clues or positive experience about convincing management to switch to Ocaml? I'm working for an European Community ESPRIT project [TWO] for static code analysis -with testing in mind- using abstract interpretation techniques. But I failed to convince my management to switch to a good language such as Ocaml. ================ My manager's arguments are: * There is an existing (important) code base (a static C code analyser) coded in C and C++ and it is unreasonable to recode it. * Ocaml is an academic langage * Ocaml is a slow implentation * Ocaml is hard to learn for people (fluent in C++) with less than a PhD in computer science (unfortunately for me, I do hold a PhD in Artif. Intel.) * Ocaml might not last long (but ESPRIT projects don't last neither) ================ ESPRIT projects are supposed to be preindustrial and OCaml is only academic Although I do know Ocaml and in a previous job I was (for 15 months) an Ocaml evangelizer I failed to convince my boss (who is computer educated, and knows much more about static code analysis or clever compiler techniques than I do). Any *quantitative* facts about Ocaml productivity boosts will be appreciated; any history about switching to Ocaml for an *existing* project with an existing code base (about 300kloc of C or C++) would be great. N.B. Any opinions expressed here are only mine, and not of my organization. N.B. Les opinions exprimees ici me sont personnelles et n engagent pas le CEA. --------------------------------------------------------------------- Basile STARYNKEVITCH ---- Commissariat à l Energie Atomique DTA/LETI/DEIN/SLA * CEA/Saclay b.528 (p111f) * 91191 GIF/YVETTE CEDEX * France phone: 1,69.08.60.55; fax: 1.69.08.83.95 home: 1,46.65.45.53 email: Basile point Starynkevitch at cea point fr