2024-01-06 07:53:22 +01:00
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# ocaml-findlib
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2024-01-06 07:53:25 +01:00
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Findlib is a library manager for Objective Caml.
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It provides a convention how to store libraries, and a file format ("META") to describe the properties of libraries.
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There is also a tool (ocamlfind) for interpreting the META files, so that it is very easy to use libraries in programs and scripts.
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The information in META includes version string, compiler options for using the library, and dependencies on other libraries.
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Writing META files is straight-forward, and comes close to filling out a template.
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The ocamlfind tool makes it very easy to use libraries from O'Caml programs.
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Basically, ocamlfind is a compiler driver that interprets some additional command-line switches for selecting libraries.
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It is also possible to use ocamlfind as query tool to extract data from the library base.
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After years of development, Findlib is now the de-facto standard for library management in O'Caml.
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A lot of free software for O'Caml now requires that Findlib is available on the system.
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Distributions like GODI and Debian ensure that all libraries come with META files.
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