Js_of_ocaml (jsoo)
Js_of_ocaml is a compiler from OCaml bytecode to JavaScript. It makes it
possible to run pure OCaml programs in JavaScript environment like browsers and
Node.js.
- It is easy to install and use as it works with an existing installation of
OCaml, with no need to recompile any library.
- It comes with bindings for a large part of the browser APIs.
- According to our benchmarks, the generated programs run typically faster than
with the OCaml bytecode interpreter.
- We believe this compiler will prove much easier to maintain than a retargeted
OCaml compiler, as the bytecode provides a very stable API.
Js_of_ocaml is composed of multiple packages:
- js_of_ocaml-compiler, the compiler.
- js_of_ocaml-ppx, a ppx syntax extension.
- js_of_ocaml, the base library.
- js_of_ocaml-ppx_deriving_json
- js_of_ocaml-lwt, lwt support.
- js_of_ocaml-tyxml, tyxml support.
- js_of_ocaml-toplevel, lib and tools to build an OCaml toplevel to
JavaScript.
- wasm_of_ocaml-compiler, the Wasm_of_ocaml compiler.
Requirements
See the
opam
files for version constraints.
wasm_of_ocaml-compiler additionally depends on a system installation of binaryen (version 120 or later)
Supported engines
The generated code and runtime target ECMAScript 2020 (ES2020). Out of the box
they run on Node.js 18 or later and any evergreen web browser released since
early 2020 (Chrome 80+, Firefox 74+, Safari 13.4+, Edge 80+). QuickJS-NG is also
supported.
We optionally rely on js WeakRef, which is part of ECMAScript 2021, to implement Stdlib.Weak and Stdlib.Ephemeron.
For older engines, the output can be transpiled down to ES5 — see the
browser compatibility section of the manual.
Toplevel requirements
- tyxml, reactiveData
- ocp-indent: needed to support indentation in the toplevel
- higlo: needed to support Syntax highlighting in the toplevel
- cohttp: needed to build the toplevel webserver
Installation
Opam
opam install js_of_ocaml js_of_ocaml-compiler js_of_ocaml-ppx
Usage
Your program must first be compiled using the OCaml bytecode compiler ocamlc.
JavaScript bindings are provided by the js_of_ocaml package. The syntax
extension is provided by js_of_ocaml-ppx package.
ocamlfind ocamlc -package js_of_ocaml -package js_of_ocaml-ppx -linkpkg -o cubes.byte cubes.ml
Then, run the js_of_ocaml compiler to produce JavaScript code:
js_of_ocaml cubes.byte
Features
Most of the OCaml standard library is supported. However,
- Most of the Sys module is not supported.
Extra libraries distributed with OCaml (such as Thread) are not supported in
general. However,
- Bigarray: bigarrays are supported using Typed Arrays
- Num: supported
- Str: supported
- Graphics: partially supported using canvas (see js_of_ocaml-lwt.graphics)
- Unix: time related functions are supported
Tail call is not optimized in general. However, mutually recursive functions are
optimized:
- self recursive functions (when the tail calls are the function itself) are
compiled using a loop.
- trampolines are used otherwise.
More about tail call
optimization.
Effect handlers are supported with the --effects={cps,double-translation}
flag.
Data representation
Data representation differs from the usual one. Most notably, integers are 32
bits (rather than 31 bits or 63 bits), which is their natural size in
JavaScript, and floats are not boxed. As a consequence, marshalling, polymorphic
comparison, and hashing functions can yield results different from usual:
- marshalling floats might generate different output. Such output should not be
unmarshalled using the standard OCaml runtime (native or bytecode).
- the polymorphic hash function will not give the same results on datastructures
containing floats;
- these functions may be more prone to stack overflow.
| OCaml | JavaScript |
|---|
| int | number (32bit int) |
| int32 | number (32bit int) |
| nativeint | number (32bit int) |
| int64 | Object (MlInt64) |
| float | number |
| string | string or object (MlBytes) |
| bytes | object (MlBytes) |
| "immediate" (e.g. true, false, None, ()) | number (32bit int) |
| "block" | array with tag as first element (e.g. C(1,2) => [tag,1,2]) |
| array | block with tag 0 (e.g. [|1;2|] => [0,1,2]) |
| tuple | block with tag 0 (e.g. (1,2) => [0,1,2]) |
| record | block (e.g. {x=1;y=2} => [0,1,2]) |
| constructor with arguments | block (e.g. C (1, 2) => [tag,1,2]) |
| module | block |
| exception and extensible variant | block or immediate |
| function | function |
Toplevel
Contents of the distribution
| Filename | Description |
|---|
| LICENSE | license and copyright notice |
| README | this file |
| compiler/ | compiler |
| examples/ | small examples |
| lib/ | library for interfacing with JavaScript APIs |
| ppx/ | ppx syntax extensions |
| runtime/ | runtime system |
| toplevel/ | web-based OCaml toplevel |
