JOCAMLC(1)						      General Commands Manual							JOCAMLC(1)

NAME

       jocamlc - The JoCaml bytecode compiler

SYNOPSIS

       jocamlc [ -aciv ] [ -cclib libname ] [ -ccopt option ] [ -custom ] [ -unsafe ] [ -o exec-file ] [ -I lib-dir ] filename ...

       jocamlc.opt (same options)

DESCRIPTION

       The  JoCaml  bytecode compiler jocamlc(1) compiles Caml source files to bytecode object files and link these object files to produce stand-
       alone bytecode executable files.  These executable files are then run by the bytecode interpreter jocamlrun(1).

       The jocamlc(1) command has a command-line interface similar to the one of most C compilers. It accepts several types of arguments and  pro-
       cesses them sequentially:

       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 jocamlc(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  jocamlc(1)  com-
       piler produces 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 produces 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 initialized 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
       the library are linked as regular .cmo files (see above), in the order specified when the .cma file was built. The only difference is  that
       if an object file contained in a library is not referenced anywhere in the program, then it is not linked in.

       Arguments  ending  in .c are passed to the C compiler, which generates a .o object file. This object file is linked with the program if the
       -custom flag is set (see the description of -custom below).

       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).

       jocamlc.opt  is	the  same  compiler  as  jocamlc,  but compiled with the native-code compiler jocamlopt(1).  Thus, it behaves exactly like
       jocamlc, but compiles faster.  jocamlc.opt is not available in all installations of JoCaml.

OPTIONS

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

       -a     Build a library (.cma file) with the object files (.cmo files) given on the command line, instead of linking them into an executable
	      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 executable
	      file is produced. This option is useful to compile modules separately.

       -cclib -llibname
	      Pass the -llibname option to the C linker when linking in ``custom 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, jocamlrun(1).  In the custom runtime mode, the linker produces an output file that contains both the runtime
	      system and the bytecode for the program. The resulting file is larger, but it can be executed directly,  even  if  the  jocamlrun(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 implementation (.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 interface (.mli file) for a file: just redirect the standard output of the compiler to a .mli file,
	      and edit that file to remove all declarations of unexported names.

       -I directory
	      Add the given directory to the list of directories searched for compiled interface files	(.cmi)	and  compiled  object  code  files
	      (.cmo).  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.

       -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 tradition. 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  therefore
	      slightly faster, but unsafe: anything can happen if the program accesses an array or string outside of its bounds.

SEE ALSO

       jocaml(1), jocamlrun(1).
       The Objective Caml user's manual, chapter "Batch compilation".

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