[MLton] library naming

Matthew Fluet fluet at cs.cornell.edu
Tue Oct 17 18:09:52 PDT 2006


> Perhaps the name "mltonlib" for the root of the project is the wrong
> name, for a number of reasons.  It really isn't a library.

Indeed, that seems to be the crux of the issue: What is "mltonlib"?

I think that Vesa sees it as a Boost like focused project: well-crafted, 
high-quality libraries.

I think that Stephen sees it as a SourceForge like public service: hosting 
and exposure of work-in-progress libraries.

Both are valid approaches to generating libraries for SML.  Stephen's 
naming scheme makes sense for his vision: there is a logical place for 
anyone (your "home" directory is some interpretation of your e-mail 
address, say).  Subversion (with access control commit-scripts) nicely 
supports giving anyone access, but keeping all of the code in one place.
The latter point is what differentiates "mltonlib" from the current state 
of affairs: there is one place to find a bunch of work-in-progress 
libraries.

Inevitably, I think that Vesa's model would emerge from Stephen's, as a 
way of selecting high-quality libraries that others may depend upon.




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