From mboxrd@z Thu Jan 1 00:00:00 1970 Return-Path: Received: from concorde.inria.fr (concorde.inria.fr [192.93.2.39]) by yquem.inria.fr (Postfix) with ESMTP id F27D4BC2F for ; Thu, 25 Nov 2004 12:59:50 +0100 (CET) Received: from smtp.syd.swiftdsl.com.au (smtp.syd.swiftdsl.com.au [218.214.224.138]) by concorde.inria.fr (8.13.0/8.13.0) with SMTP id iAPBxljM022047 for ; Thu, 25 Nov 2004 12:59:49 +0100 Received: (qmail 17102 invoked from network); 25 Nov 2004 12:00:03 -0000 Received: from unknown (HELO coltrane.mega-nerd.net) (218.214.64.136) by smtp.syd.swiftdsl.com.au with SMTP; 25 Nov 2004 12:00:03 -0000 Received: from coltrane (localhost [127.0.0.1]) by coltrane.mega-nerd.net (Postfix) with SMTP id 4251F7B96 for ; Thu, 25 Nov 2004 22:59:44 +1100 (EST) Date: Thu, 25 Nov 2004 22:59:44 +1100 From: Erik de Castro Lopo To: caml-list@yquem.inria.fr Subject: Re: [Caml-list] Experiences with learning OCaml? Message-Id: <20041125225944.47a1d10a.ocaml-erikd@mega-nerd.com> In-Reply-To: <3033.66.167.163.102.1101382830.squirrel@acs-webmail.ucsd.edu> References: <3033.66.167.163.102.1101382830.squirrel@acs-webmail.ucsd.edu> Organization: Erik Conspiracy Secret Labs X-Mailer: Sylpheed version 0.9.99 (GTK+ 1.2.10; i386-pc-linux-gnu) Mime-Version: 1.0 Content-Type: text/plain; charset=US-ASCII Content-Transfer-Encoding: 7bit X-Miltered: at concorde with ID 41A5C933.000 by Joe's j-chkmail (http://j-chkmail.ensmp.fr)! X-Spam: no; 0.00; caml-list:01 ocaml:01 ucsd:01 wrote:01 ocaml:01 nospam:98 gimmicks:98 suited:01 lisp:01 functional:02 functional:02 languages:03 programming:03 programming:03 revenues:96 X-Spam-Checker-Version: SpamAssassin 3.0.0 (2004-09-13) on yquem.inria.fr X-Spam-Status: No, score=0.1 required=5.0 tests=FORGED_RCVD_HELO autolearn=disabled version=3.0.0 X-Spam-Level: On Thu, 25 Nov 2004 03:40:30 -0800 (PST) whenning@ucsd.edu wrote: > Hi, > > I'm an undergraduate student studying computer science. My course > assignments generally use C, C++, or Java, and I find myself pining for > something more elegant. Indeed. > Would doing this be difficult if one were sufficiently motivated? If you are reasonably familiar with languages as complex as C++ and Java, then Ocaml is definitely not too difficult but will require you to develope some new ways of thinking about programming problems. > Although I've of course Googled around for potential books to select, are > there any ones particularly suited for someone in my position? Before starting with Ocaml, I had not programmed in a functional language since some scheme (Lisp dialect) programming in University around 1990. I didn't have a book. All I had was the web documentation and a problem I needed to solve. I ended up writing about 100 small test programs (100 lines or less) to test different concepts and techniques. > Finally, although OCaml looks interesting, would some other functional > language be better for someone new to functional programming? Ocaml is a good choice. Erik -- +-----------------------------------------------------------+ Erik de Castro Lopo nospam@mega-nerd.com (Yes it's valid) +-----------------------------------------------------------+ "The RIAA is obsessed to the point of comedy with the frustration of having its rules broken, without considering whether such rules might be standing in the way of increased revenues. Indeed, Napster and Gnutella may turn out to be the two best music-marketing gimmicks yet devised, if only the RIAA would take its head out of its ass long enough to realise it." -- Thomas C Greene on www.theregister.co.uk