Poly/ML December 2014

polyml@lists.polyml.org

16 participants
15 discussions

Poly/ML
by dtopham＠gmail.com 16 Dec '14

16 Dec '14

I just discovered PolyML while looking for a distribution of Standard ML that I could compile from source on TinyCore Linux. It worked perfectly (unike SMLNJ e.g.). I am interested in connecting GUI to ML as well as functions written in C/C++ and all that seems like it would work (form reading the documentation). My question is this: The doc for using PolyML Motif is 14 years old and one posting from David Matthews in this forum mentioned that Motif is no longer maintained, so I wonder if that was a project that is no longer worth learning. Is there a better way to mix GUI with PolyML? (I have been using FLTK with C++ with very good success so far, but want to add in the ability to mix in functional (SML) programming. Any suggestions would be appreciated!

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GUI Interface (Motif)
by dtopham＠gmail.com 15 Dec '14

15 Dec '14

David, Thank you so much! I really appreciate your help with this. Your sample below builds fine with polyc on my system (PolyML 5.5.2). I am using a minimal Linux distribution named TinyCore ( http://distro.ibiblio.org/tinycorelinux/) which comes with OpenMotif 2.3.3 It runs in a virtual machine within another computer only taking up a few hundred MBs! I am going to use it to help my students explore Discrete Math next semester (this textbook uses SML for that purpose: http://cs.wheaton.edu/~tvandrun/dmfp/). I also found a reasonably current project using PolyML and Motif here: http://www.lemma-one.com/ProofPower/index/ ...however it was built on PolyML 4 and has not yet been ported to the newer version (e.g. depends on PolyML.commit which no longer seems to be supported). Happy Holidays to everyone in the PolyML community! -David Topham > Re: GUI Interface (David Matthews) > > I've experimented with building a stand-alone executable with Motif and > succeeded in getting it to work for me using polyc. (It required > building Poly/ML with --with-x). I took the example from > http://www.polyml.org/docs/Motif.html and wrapped it up in a function. > I did find a problem, though. It looks as though the function has to > suspend itself with something like Posix.Process.pause otherwise nothing > happens. I seem to recall that the Motif stuff is handled on a separate > thread to allow the REPL to continue to accept commands. With a > stand-alone application there isn't a REPL so without the "pause" it > terminates immediately. > > David > > open XWindows ; > open Motif ; > > fun main() = > let > val shell = > XtAppInitialise "" "xed" "Editor" [] [XmNwidth 400, XmNheight 400] ; > > val main = XmCreateMainWindow shell "main" [] ; > > val bar = XmCreateMenuBar main "bar" [] ; > > val fileMenu = XmCreateCascadeButton bar "file" [XmNlabelString "File"] ; > val editMenu = XmCreateCascadeButton bar "edit" [XmNlabelString "Edit"] ; > val viewMenu = XmCreateCascadeButton bar "view" [XmNlabelString "View"] ; > val helpMenu = XmCreateCascadeButton bar "help" [XmNlabelString "Help"] ; > > val command = XmCreateText main "command" [XmNeditMode XmSINGLE_LINE_EDIT] > ; > > val hscroll = XmCreateScrollBar main "hscroll" [XmNorientation > XmHORIZONTAL] ; > val vscroll = XmCreateScrollBar main "vscroll" [XmNorientation XmVERTICAL] > ; > > val work = XmCreateDrawingArea main "work" [] ; > in > > XtManageChildren [fileMenu, editMenu, viewMenu, helpMenu] ; > XtManageChildren [bar, command, hscroll, vscroll, work] ; > > XmMainWindowSetAreas main bar command hscroll vscroll work ; > > XtManageChild main ; > XtRealizeWidget shell; > Posix.Process.pause() > end; > > > ------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > polyml mailing list > polyml at inf.ed.ac.uk > http://lists.inf.ed.ac.uk/mailman/listinfo/polyml > > End of polyml Digest, Vol 110, Issue 12 > *************************************** > > -- > The University of Edinburgh is a charitable body, registered in > Scotland, with registration number SC005336. > >

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GUI Interface
by dtopham＠gmail.com 14 Dec '14

14 Dec '14

> > > The X-Windows/Motif code still builds as far as I'm aware but that's as > > far as it goes. I would say it was better to use something else through > > CInterface. > > > > The Poly/ML interactive environment (read-eval-print loop or REPL) is > > usually the easiest way to develop and test your code. It prints the > > types and values of top-level expressions. When building an application > > it is probably easier to use "polyc". This is really a wrapper script > > for "poly" which compiles, exports and links a stand-alone application. > > You need to define a function called "main" that is the root function > > of your application. > > > > $ cat > testme.ML > > fun main() = print "Hello World\n"; > > $ polyc testme.ML > > $ ./a.out > > Hello World > > > > David Matthews > > > > > > Thanks for your reply David, I will look into using CInterface. That > > > makes me think that another approach could be to use an imperative > > language > > > for the GUI and link in the ML functions! That way existing GUI > builders > > > could be used. I will experiment. > > > I did get the interactive version of the sample Motif code to work OK, but failed to get it to build stand-alone (i.e. using polyc). Perhaps the polyc script doesn't include the needed Motif libraries? But also, my limited understanding of how to incorporate that GUI code into a main function may be to blame. I will keep trying, but after more reading, I am beginning to think that my idea to use the CInterface backwards: calling ML code from C rather than the other way around is not going to work! I had been thinking that instead of wrapping some new GUI library around ML (like the Motif code which seems to be obsolete), I could use existing C/C++ GUI frameworks and have the logic of the program be in ML, but that means calling ML functions from C. Can that be done? What surprises me is that all these years of people using ML, but no one has felt the need to write stand-alone programs for end-users that have a GUI? I don't see any example code that does that (I did see Polychrome within a web browser). ...and some examples that mention Isabelle has an IDE -- not PolyML though, just SML/NJ? and with Java required?) -Dave

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polyml Digest, Vol 110, Issue 5
by dtopham＠gmail.com 11 Dec '14

11 Dec '14

Thank you David for the suggestion to use polyc; I hadn't seen that anywhere in the documentation on the main website! I entered the code in the sample tutorial for the Motif interface and it works very well in interactive mode. When I try to use polyc on it, there is an error (attached in image file). I suspect from reading it that perhaps the "main" needed from polyc must have type that returns int, but in general (in Motif) it has return type Widget. Is polyc restricted to console only? i.e. perhaps more wrapper code is needed to make a stand-alone GUI using polyc? p.s. Even though I will take your advice and not spend too much time on Motif; I think the overall mechanics may be similar even if I find a way to use an updated GUI. On Thu, Dec 11, 2014 at 4:00 AM, <polyml-request at inf.ed.ac.uk> wrote: > Send polyml mailing list submissions to > polyml at inf.ed.ac.uk > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > http://lists.inf.ed.ac.uk/mailman/listinfo/polyml > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > polyml-request at inf.ed.ac.uk > > You can reach the person managing the list at > polyml-owner at inf.ed.ac.uk > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of polyml digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Re: Poly/ML (David Matthews) > 2. Re: emacs SML mode (Peter Gammie) > 3. Re: emacs SML mode (Makarius) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Wed, 10 Dec 2014 12:51:42 +0000 > From: David Matthews <David.Matthews at prolingua.co.uk> > To: polyml at inf.ed.ac.uk > Subject: Re: [polyml] Poly/ML > Message-ID: <548841DE.1050306 at prolingua.co.uk> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=ISO-8859-1; format=flowed > > The X-Windows/Motif code still builds as far as I'm aware but that's as > far as it goes. I would say it was better to use something else through > CInterface. > > The Poly/ML interactive environment (read-eval-print loop or REPL) is > usually the easiest way to develop and test your code. It prints the > types and values of top-level expressions. When building an application > it is probably easier to use "polyc". This is really a wrapper script > for "poly" which compiles, exports and links a stand-alone application. > You need to define a function called "main" that is the root function > of your application. > > $ cat > testme.ML > fun main() = print "Hello World\n"; > $ polyc testme.ML > $ ./a.out > Hello World > > David > > On 09/12/2014 17:25, David Topham wrote: > > Thanks for your reply Richard, I will look into using CInterface. That > > makes me think that another approach could be to use an imperative > language > > for the GUI and link in the ML functions! That way existing GUI builders > > could be used. I will experiment. I scannned through your work on > wrapping > > SDL and find it interesting. Since I am new to ML could you supply a > short > > demo of how one would integrate those into a complete example? (I think > SDL > > is supplied with TinyCore, so I will test it there). I noticed when > loading > > the Motif library in PolyML (the use command), that the screen would > > display each function as it is loaded. Do you know if there is a way to > > create a standalone app that does not bombard the user with that kind of > > loading info? e.g. When you start up your SDL game, does it scroll > through > > screens of info before game starts? -Dave > > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 2 > Date: Wed, 10 Dec 2014 20:52:36 -0600 > From: Peter Gammie <peteg42 at gmail.com> > To: PolyML mailing list <polyml at inf.ed.ac.uk> > Cc: Stefan Monnier <monnier at iro.umontreal.ca> > Subject: Re: [polyml] emacs SML mode > Message-ID: <78D81D05-7A9A-4BB6-83FE-2790F21B48E4 at gmail.com> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset="windows-1252" > > David, Makarius, > > On 3 Dec 2014, at 13:20, Makarius <makarius at sketis.net> wrote: > > > Here is also an example for that, to implement a home-made "eval" > function in Poly/ML: > http://stackoverflow.com/questions/9555790/does-sml-poly-have-a-cl-like-repl > > > > This should give some clues how to do it. It is up to that function to > say how errors are printed. > > > > An actual REPL requires a bit more work, with proper handling of > interrupts in contrast to regular exceptions. Isabelle2014 still happens > to have such a REPL in isar.ML, but it is not used by default and already > deleted for the next release. (Such a nostalgic REPL is actually more > complicated than having a direct editing model that is now standard in > Isabelle/PIDE.) > > Thanks for the pointer. I?ve stashed this one away for a rainy day. Right > now I just want to interact with Poly/ML in the most straightforward way. > > On 3 Dec 2014, at 5:33, David Matthews <dm at prolingua.co.uk> wrote: > > > It would be nice to have SML emacs mode working with Poly/ML for those > who would like to use it but my feeling is that it is rather > old-fashioned. Poly/ML now supports a much more extensive interface > designed for an IDE. The best example of this is Isabelle's ML mode. See > http://sketis.net/2014/isabellepide-as-ide-for-standard-ml which has a > nice screen-shot. Lucas Dixon and I both had a go at producing IDEs which > were completely independent of Isabelle but we didn?t get as far as > Makarius has. > > I?m not adverse to trying out JEdit, but it seems to dodge the issues > somewhat. Is anyone using it for hacking large-scale SML programs? > > One measure of adequacy might be if JEdit/SML (err, Isabelle/SML?) can > load the foundational Isabelle stuff, e.g. Pure/ROOT.ML. (How do you hack > Isabelle/Pure presently?) > > In particular I?d want access to Poly/ML?s concurrency primitives. It > seems to nuke Poly/ML?s ?use? function, which is a little unfriendly. > > BTW I have no problem cranking out .thy files as a kind of fake build > system if that?s what it takes. > > > The format that the default REPL uses for error messages was one that > was used by various compilers at one time and it used to be possible to > parse it automatically. If there's a more up-to-date format I'm happy to > change to it. I don?t know if anyone is parsing the current format > automatically and would be inconvenienced by a change. > > Me neither. Hide it under a flag? Or are you (and Makarius) suggesting > that I hand-roll my own REPL? (I?m not adverse to that either.) > > thanks, > peter > > ? > http://peteg.org/ >

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polyml Digest, Vol 110, Issue 3
by dtopham＠gmail.com 10 Dec '14

10 Dec '14

Thanks for your reply Richard, I will look into using CInterface. That makes me think that another approach could be to use an imperative language for the GUI and link in the ML functions! That way existing GUI builders could be used. I will experiment. I scannned through your work on wrapping SDL and find it interesting. Since I am new to ML could you supply a short demo of how one would integrate those into a complete example? (I think SDL is supplied with TinyCore, so I will test it there). I noticed when loading the Motif library in PolyML (the use command), that the screen would display each function as it is loaded. Do you know if there is a way to create a standalone app that does not bombard the user with that kind of loading info? e.g. When you start up your SDL game, does it scroll through screens of info before game starts? -Dave On Tue, Dec 9, 2014 at 4:00 AM, <polyml-request at inf.ed.ac.uk> wrote: > Send polyml mailing list submissions to > polyml at inf.ed.ac.uk > > To subscribe or unsubscribe via the World Wide Web, visit > http://lists.inf.ed.ac.uk/mailman/listinfo/polyml > or, via email, send a message with subject or body 'help' to > polyml-request at inf.ed.ac.uk > > You can reach the person managing the list at > polyml-owner at inf.ed.ac.uk > > When replying, please edit your Subject line so it is more specific > than "Re: Contents of polyml digest..." > > > Today's Topics: > > 1. Poly/ML (David Topham) > 2. Re: Poly/ML (Richard Molitor) > > > ---------------------------------------------------------------------- > > Message: 1 > Date: Mon, 8 Dec 2014 18:03:27 +0000 (UTC) > From: David Topham <dtopham at gmail.com> > To: polyml at inf.ed.ac.uk > Subject: [polyml] Poly/ML > Message-ID: <loom.20141208T185725-199 at post.gmane.org> > Content-Type: text/plain; charset=us-ascii > > I just discovered PolyML while looking for a distribution of Standard ML > that I > could compile from source on TinyCore Linux. It worked perfectly (unike > SMLNJ > e.g.). > > I am interested in connecting GUI to ML as well as functions written in > C/C++ and all that seems like it would work (form reading the > documentation). My > question is this: > The doc for using PolyML Motif is 14 years old and one posting from > David > Matthews in this forum mentioned that Motif is no longer maintained, so I > wonder > if that was a project that is no longer worth learning. > > Is there a better way to mix GUI with PolyML? > > (I have been using FLTK with C++ with very good success so > far, but want to add in the ability to mix in functional (SML) programming. > > Any suggestions would be appreciated! > > > > ------------------------------ > > Message: 2 > Date: Tue, 9 Dec 2014 00:02:24 +0100 (CET) > From: Richard Molitor <gattschardo at googlemail.com> > To: polyml at inf.ed.ac.uk > Subject: Re: [polyml] Poly/ML > Message-ID: <alpine.LNX.2.03.1412090000160.5655 at localdomain.local> > Content-Type: TEXT/PLAIN; charset=US-ASCII; format=flowed > > Hello David, > > On Mon, 8 Dec 2014, David Topham wrote: > > > I am interested in connecting GUI to ML as well as functions written in > > C/C++ and all that seems like it would work (form reading the > documentation). > > [...] > > Is there a better way to mix GUI with PolyML? > > I myself picked up PolyML recently and I'm liking the small distribution. > Unfortunately that means it doesn't comes with "batteries included", as > they > say. > > > Any suggestions would be appreciated! > > What I found is that wrapping C libraries using the interface documented at > http://polyml.org/docs/CInterface.html is rather simple - provided you > know C, > but from reading your mail that seems to be no issue. > > I didn't want a GUI library, but I wrapped parts of SDL2 for some simple > game > development, see > https://github.com/gattschardo/hashira/blob/master/sdl.sml > it's not a complete wrapper, just what I felt I needed myself. > Also I have a somewhat more complete wrapping for libjson at: > https://github.com/fkmsoft/fridge/blob/master/ml/json.ML > > So you might want to try just wrapping relevant parts of e.g. Gtk yourself > and > see how far you can get (don't know how wrapping C++ for getting Qt would > work) > > Cheers > Richard > > PS: if anybody is interested in using my WIP wrappers, I'd be happy to > polish > them a little and put them in proper repositories. > > > ------------------------------ > > _______________________________________________ > polyml mailing list > polyml at inf.ed.ac.uk > http://lists.inf.ed.ac.uk/mailman/listinfo/polyml > > End of polyml Digest, Vol 110, Issue 3 > ************************************** > > -- > The University of Edinburgh is a charitable body, registered in > Scotland, with registration number SC005336. > >

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Poly/ML December 2014