OCaIDE
This eclipse plugin is getting better all the time.
It has the
additional advantage over Emacs of having built-in support for the
batch compilation system, ocamlc, and when using the batch compiler there is
even a debugger available.
(note, I could not get the debugger to
work; please let me know if the debugger works for you). The
OCaIDE homepage
contains all the information to install it; help is available
within Eclipse on how to use it.
Tips
Generally in the course materials we are assuming you are using emacs;
here are a few tips and tricks for usig OCaIDE instead. These assume
you have already installed OCaIDE.
-
For the first couple homeworks, you'll want to use the "Ocaml Project
(ocamlbuild)" variety of project. This spares you the details of
compilation and allows you to focus on learning the language. It also
allows you to view the types of various expressions in the editor.
Windows users may instead wish to use the "OCaml Managed Project", since
ocamlbuild under Windows requires a Cygwin installation.
-
Use Window -> show View -> OCaml Toplevel to start a new top-loop,
which appears below. Type your input in the small lower window.
-
For small fiddling in the top loop, make a new "module" (i.e., a .ml
file), edit, select the code in the file with the mouse, and use the
menu option Ocaml -> Eval in Toplevel to submit it to the top loop in
the window below.
-
To submit the whole file to the toploop as if you typed it there,
select everything and "Eval in Toplevel" as above. There is a menu
option "Load in Toplevel" which loads a whole file, but this option
loads the bytecode and it loads it as a module (i.e., it
#uses it). Another way is to use the "load in toplevel"
and then type #open Myfilename to the toplevel to make your functions
directly available in the toplevel (where myfilename.ml is the file you
were editing).
-
For the homeworks which use the F♭DK (F♭ development kit),
you should set up your project differently. For Linux or Mac users,
the following instructions apply:
- Create an "OCaml Empty Makefile" project.
-
Extract the contents of the FbDK archive into the project
directory. Note that files such as "configure" should be in
your project's root directory, not in a subfolder.
-
From the console, run
./configure from within the
Eclipse project directory to create the makefile.
- Refresh the project from within Eclipse.
-
In the project properties dialog, select the Makefile panel.
In the "additional make options" field, add
"
-f Makefile OCAMLBEST=byte".
- Select "Clean" from the Project menu to build your project.
-
In the Run Configurations dialog, create a new OCaml Executable
configuration. Type the project name here exactly as you typed
it before and browse for the "Fb" executable in the project
directory. You may now use the run configuration to run your
interpreter.
For Windows users, the following set of alternate instructions may be
helpful:
- Create a new OCaml Managed Project.
-
Extract the contents of the FbDK archive into the project
directory. The project's directory should immediately contain
the file "configure".
- Refresh the project from within Eclipse.
-
In the project's Properties dialog, choose the Builder panel.
-
Uncheck "Ocaml Builder". You will get a warning message; press
OK.
-
Press the New button to create a new builder. Choose "Program"
and name this builder "FbDK batch builder".
-
Under Location, browse the workspace and select
"win32Build.bat". (If it does not appear in the dialog, try
refreshing your project again, confirm that the file is in the
project from within Eclipse, and then resume from step 3 above.)
-
Under Working Directory, browse the workspace and select the
project directory.
-
Under the Refresh tab, check the box named "Refresh resources
upon completion."
-
Under the Build Options tab, check the box named "During auto
builds."
-
Press OK to apply the new builder and leave the properties
dialog.
-
Select "Build All" from the Project menu to build the project.
-
In the Run Configurations dialog, create a new OCaml Executable
configuration. Type the project name here exactly as you typed
it before and browse for the "Fb" executable in the project
directory. You may now use the run configuration to run your
interpreter.
-
When you make changes to
fbinterp.ml, you will need
to view the Console for errors. Because the OcaIDE builder has
been disabled, the errors reported by Eclipse are meaningless.
-
You may want to use the top loop to interact with
F♭ rather than the executable; for that, edit
the fbdktoploop.ml file, select all, and Eval in Toplevel. Now you
have all the functions in that file available in the top loop
below. Note that this step will not automatically rebuild - you
must perform it manually each time you save changes. You will need
to uncomment the "#cd" command to point the toploop to the right
location to load the files.
