Build Instructions

Release mode

In release mode, assume you have NodeJS and OCaml compiler with the right version installed:

node scripts/install.js

The build process will generate configure file with correct LIBDIR path, build all binaries and libraries and install the binaries into bin and lib files into lib.

First it will try to generate bin/config_whole_compiler.ml based on existing OCaml installation, if it fails, it will try to invoke buildocaml.sh to install an OCaml compiler from scratch, and retry again

Dev mode

Setup

Use the correct opam switch for working on BuckleScript

opam update
opam switch 4.02.3+buckle-master
opam switch reinstall 4.02.3+buckle-master # do this if you get errors even from a clean compilation
opam install camlp4
eval `opam config env`

build BuckleScript's forked OCaml

cd vendor/ocaml
./configure -prefix `pwd`
make world.opt
make install

build all of Bucklescript

cd ../../jscomp
make world

build the compiler (bsc.exe)

If you don't change the type definition of JS IR, i.e, j.ml, then the only dependency is the build tool: make

rm -rf core/js_map.ml core/js_fold.ml && make core/js_map.ml core/js_fold.ml bin/bsc.exe

If you do want to change the JS IR, you also need camlp4, note that the version does not need match the exact the same version of compiler.

build the build system (bsb.exe)

make bin/bsb.exe && make bin/bsb_helper.ml && make -C bin bsb_helper.exe

Generate packed ML files for PR: make force-snapshotml

build the runtime

cd ./runtime; make all

build the stdlib

cd ./stdlib; make all

Several useful targets

• make depend generates the .depend files used by make to build things in the correct order
• make check builds and runs the tests
• make libs builds the JS runtime

Publish process

• Run make force-snapshotml
• Bump the compiler version
• Build the JS playground
  • Generate js_compiler.ml
  • Generate cmj data sets
  • Generate preload.js
  • Make sure AMDJS are up to date

Code structure

The highlevel architecture is illustrated as below:

Lambda IR (OCaml compiler libs) ---+
  |   ^                            |
  |   |                     Lambda Passes (lam_* files)
  |   |             Optimization/inlining/dead code elimination
  |   \                            |
  |    \ --------------------------+
  |
  |  Self tail call elimination
  |  Constant folding + propagation
  V
JS IR (J.ml)  ---------------------+
  |   ^                            |
  |   |                     JS Passes (js_* files)
  |   |            Optimization/inlining/dead code elimination
  |   \                            |
  |    \  -------------------------+
  |
  |  Smart printer includes scope analysis
  |
  V
Javascript Code

Note that there is one design goal to keep in mind, never introduce any meaningless symbol unless real necessary, we do optimizations, however, it should also compile readable output code.

Rebuilding the browser-based playground

Get js_of_ocaml from the normal switch

opam switch 4.02.3
eval `opam config env`
opam install js_of_ocaml.2.8.4
which js_of_ocaml # symlink this into your $PATH, maybe /usr/local/bin or something

Do everything else from the bucklescript switch

opam switch 4.02.3+buckle-master
eval `opam config env`
opam install camlp4 ocp-ocamlres
(cd vendor/ocaml && make world)
(cd jscomp && node repl.js)

Sub directories

stdlib

A copy of standard library from OCaml distribution(4.02) for fast development, so that we don't need bootstrap compiler, everytime we deliver a new feature.

• Files copied
  • sources
  • Makefile.shared Compflags .depend Makefile
• Patches Most in Makefile.shared

test

The directory containing unit-test files, some unit tests are copied from OCaml distribution(4.02)