OCaml for Aliens
I’ve had this goal for quite some time to learn a functional programming language enough to write small programs in it. Not just having theoretical knowledge about the functional style of programming. For some reason I had missed OCaml entirely but upon first encounter I thought that I could like it. I have a preference for statically types languages and found the syntax intriguing. So if you are like me, starting this adventure, I have some tips about deciphering it. Since OCaml is borderline fringe it can be difficult to find answers to questions online. Even if I’m very much a novice there may be value in writing down my learning experience.
Learning Material
First some pointers to real learning material.
- The official OCaml web site is a pretty good portal with lots of relevant information on how to get started. I particularly recommend reading the OCaml Manual; it’s well structured and quite practical.
- In similar fashion but from a university, there is this course material available online.
- There is a recurring OCaml MOOC held by Université Paris Diderot. It’s good but quite tough if you don’t know any OCaml (first week is easy).
- Standard library docs