ocamlc (1)
NAME
ocamlc - The Objective Caml bytecode compiler
SYNOPSIS
ocamlc [ -aciv ] [ -cclib libname ] [ -ccopt option ] [ -custom ] [
-unsafe ] [ -o exec-file ] [ -I lib-dir ] filename ...
ocamlc.opt (same options)
DESCRIPTION
The Objective Caml bytecode compiler ocamlc(1) compiles Caml source
files to bytecode object files and link these object files to produce
standalone bytecode executable files. These executable files are then
run by the bytecode interpreter ocamlrun(1).
The ocamlc(1) command has a command-line interface similar to the one
of most C compilers. It accepts several types of arguments:
Arguments ending in .mli are taken to be source files for compilation
unit interfaces. Interfaces specify the names exported by compilation
units: they declare value names with their types, define public data
types, declare abstract data types, and so on. From the file x.mli, the
ocamlc(1) compiler produces a compiled interface in the file x.cmi.
Arguments ending in .ml are taken to be source files for compilation
unit implementations. Implementations provide definitions for the names
exported by the unit, and also contain expressions to be evaluated for
their side-effects. From the file x.ml, the ocamlc(1) compiler pro-
duces compiled object bytecode in the file x.cmo.
If the interface file x.mli exists, the implementation x.ml is checked
against the corresponding compiled interface x.cmi, which is assumed to
exist. If no interface x.mli is provided, the compilation of x.ml pro-
duces a compiled interface file x.cmi in addition to the compiled
object code file x.cmo. The file x.cmi produced corresponds to an
interface that exports everything that is defined in the implementation
x.ml.
Arguments ending in .cmo are taken to be compiled object bytecode.
These files are linked together, along with the object files obtained
by compiling .ml arguments (if any), and the Caml Light standard
library, to produce a standalone executable program. The order in which
.cmo and.ml arguments are presented on the command line is relevant:
compilation units are initialized in that order at run-time, and it is
a link-time error to use a component of a unit before having initial-
ized it. Hence, a given x.cmo file must come before all .cmo files that
refer to the unit x.
Arguments ending in .cma are taken to be libraries of object bytecode.
A library of object bytecode packs in a single file a set of object
bytecode files (.cmo files). Libraries are built with ocamlc -a (see
the description of the -a option below). The object files contained in
Arguments ending in .o or.a are assumed to be C object files and
libraries. They are passed to the C linker when linking in -custom mode
(see the description of -custom below).
ocamlc.opt is the same compiler as ocamlc, but compiled with the
native-code compiler ocamlopt(1). Thus, it behaves exactly like
ocamlc, but compiles faster. ocamlc.opt is not available in all
installations of Objective Caml.
OPTIONS
The following command-line options are recognized by ocamlc(1).
-a Build a library (.cma file) with the object files (.cmo files)
given on the command line, instead of linking them into an exe-
cutable file. The name of the library can be set with the -o
option. The default name is library.cma.
-c Compile only. Suppress the linking phase of the compilation.
Source code files are turned into compiled files, but no exe-
cutable file is produced. This option is useful to compile mod-
ules separately.
-cclib -llibname
Pass the -llibname option to the C linker when linking in ``cus-
tom runtime'' mode (see the -custom option). This causes the
given C library to be linked with the program.
-ccopt Pass the given option to the C compiler and linker, when linking
in ``custom runtime'' mode (see the -custom option). For
instance, -ccopt -L dir causes the C linker to search for C
libraries in directory dir.
-custom
Link in ``custom runtime'' mode. In the default linking mode,
the linker produces bytecode that is intended to be executed
with the shared runtime system, ocamlrun(1). In the custom run-
time mode, the linker produces an output file that contains both
the runtime system and the bytecode for the program. The result-
ing file is larger, but it can be executed directly, even if the
ocamlrun(1) command is not installed. Moreover, the ``custom
runtime'' mode enables linking Caml code with user-defined C
functions.
-i Cause the compiler to print all defined names (with their
inferred types or their definitions) when compiling an implemen-
tation (.ml file). This can be useful to check the types
inferred by the compiler. Also, since the output follows the
syntax of interfaces, it can help in writing an explicit inter-
face (.mli file) for a file: just redirect the standard output
of the compiler to a .mli file, and edit that file to remove all
they were given on the command line, but before the standard
library directory.
-o exec-file
Specify the name of the output file produced by the linker. The
default output name is a.out, in keeping with the Unix tradi-
tion. If the -a option is given, specify the name of the library
produced.
-v Print the version number of the compiler.
-unsafe
Turn bound checking off on array and string accesses (the v.(i)
and s.[i] constructs). Programs compiled with -unsafe are there-
fore slightly faster, but unsafe: anything can happen if the
program accesses an array or string outside of its bounds.
SEE ALSO
ocaml(1), ocamlrun(1).
The Objective Caml user's manual, chapter "Batch compilation".
ocamlc(1)