Provided by: ocaml-interp_4.05.0-10ubuntu1_amd64 
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
LC_CTYPE
If set to iso_8859_1, accented characters (from the ISO Latin-1 character set) in string and
character literals are printed as is; otherwise, they are printed as decimal escape sequences.
TERM When printing error messages, the toplevel system attempts to underline visually the location of
the error. It consults the TERM variable to determines the type of output terminal and look up its
capabilities in the terminal database.
SEE ALSO
ocamlc(1), ocamlopt(1), ocamlrun(1).
The OCaml user's manual, chapter "The toplevel system".
OCAML(1)