NAME

ocaml - The OCaml interactive toplevel

SYNOPSIS

ocaml [ options ] [ object-files ] [ script-file ]

DESCRIPTION

The ocaml(1) command is the toplevel system for OCaml, that permits interactive use of the OCaml system through a read-eval-print loop. In this mode, the system repeatedly reads OCaml phrases from the input, then typechecks, compiles and evaluates them, then prints the inferred type and result value, if any. The system prints a # (hash) prompt before reading each phrase.

A toplevel phrase can span several lines. It is terminated by ;; (a double-semicolon). The syntax of toplevel phrases is as follows.

The toplevel system is started by the command ocaml(1). Phrases are read on standard input, results are printed on standard output, errors on standard error. End-of-file on standard input terminates ocaml(1).

If one or more object-files (ending in .cmo or .cma) are given, they are loaded silently before starting the toplevel.

If a script-file is given, phrases are read silently from the file, errors printed on standard error. ocaml(1) exits after the execution of the last phrase.

OPTIONS

The following command-line options are recognized by ocaml(1).

-absname: Show absolute filenames in error messages.
-I directory: Add the given directory to the list of directories searched for source and compiled files. By default, the current directory is searched first, then the standard library directory. Directories added with -I are searched after the current directory, in the order in which they were given on the command line, but before the standard library directory.

: If the given directory starts with +, it is taken relative to the standard library directory. For instance, -I +compiler-libs adds the subdirectory compiler-libs of the standard library to the search path.
: Directories can also be added to the search path once the toplevel is running with the #directory directive.

-init file: Load the given file instead of the default initialization file. See the "Initialization file" section below.
-labels: Labels are not ignored in types, labels may be used in applications, and labelled parameters can be given in any order. This is the default.
-no-app-funct: Deactivates the applicative behaviour of functors. With this option, each functor application generates new types in its result and applying the same functor twice to the same argument yields two incompatible structures.
-noassert: Do not compile assertion checks. Note that the special form assert false is always compiled because it is typed specially.
-noinit: Do not load any initialization file. See the "Initialization file" section below.
-nolabels: Ignore non-optional labels in types. Labels cannot be used in applications, and parameter order becomes strict.
-noprompt: Do not display any prompt when waiting for input.
-nopromptcont: Do not display the secondary prompt when waiting for continuation lines in multi-line inputs. This should be used e.g. when running ocaml(1) in an emacs(1) window.
-nostdlib: Do not include the standard library directory in the list of directories searched for source and compiled files.
-open module: Opens the given module before starting the toplevel. If several -open options are given, they are processed in order, just as if the statements open! module1;; ... open! moduleN;; were input.
-plugin plugin: Dynamically load the code of the given plugin (a .cmo or .cma file) in the toplevel.
-ppx command: After parsing, pipe the abstract syntax tree through the preprocessor command. The module Ast_mapper(3) implements the external interface of a preprocessor.
-principal: Check information path during type-checking, to make sure that all types are derived in a principal way. When using labelled arguments and/or polymorphic methods, this flag is required to ensure future versions of the compiler will be able to infer types correctly, even if internal algorithms change. All programs accepted in -principal mode are also accepted in the default mode with equivalent types, but different binary signatures, and this may slow down type checking; yet it is a good idea to use it once before publishing source code.
-rectypes: Allow arbitrary recursive types during type-checking. By default, only recursive types where the recursion goes through an object type are supported.
-safe-string: Enforce the separation between types string and bytes, thereby making strings read-only. This will become the default in a future version of OCaml.
-short-paths: When a type is visible under several module-paths, use the shortest one when printing the type's name in inferred interfaces and error and warning messages.
-stdin: Read the standard input as a script file rather than starting an interactive session.
-strict-sequence: Force the left-hand part of each sequence to have type unit.
-unboxed-types: When a type is unboxable (i.e. a record with a single argument or a concrete datatype with a single constructor of one argument) it will be unboxed unless annotated with [@@ocaml.boxed].
-no-unboxed-types: When a type is unboxable it will be boxed unless annotated with [@@ocaml.unboxed]. This is the default.
-unsafe: Turn bound checking off on array and string accesses (the v.(i)ands.[i] constructs). Programs compiled with -unsafe are therefore slightly faster, but unsafe: anything can happen if the program accesses an array or string outside of its bounds.
-unsafe-string: Identify the types string and bytes, thereby making strings writable. For reasons of backward compatibility, this is the default setting for the moment, but this will change in a future version of OCaml.
-version: Print version string and exit.
-vnum: Print short version number and exit.
-no-version: Do not print the version banner at startup.
-w warning-list: Enable or disable warnings according to the argument warning-list. See ocamlc(1) for the syntax of the warning-list argument.
-warn-error warning-list: Mark as fatal the warnings described by the argument warning-list. Note that a warning is not triggered (and does not trigger an error) if it is disabled by the -w option. See ocamlc(1) for the syntax of the warning-list argument.
-warn-help: Show the description of all available warning numbers.
- file: Use file as a script file name, even when it starts with a hyphen (-).
-help or --help: Display a short usage summary and exit.

INITIALIZATION FILE

When ocaml(1) is invoked, it will read phrases from an initialization file before giving control to the user. The default file is .ocamlinit in the current directory if it exists, otherwise .ocamlinit in the user's home directory. You can specify a different initialization file by using the -init file option, and disable initialization files by using the -noinit option.

Note that you can also use the #use directive to read phrases from a file.

ENVIRONMENT VARIABLES