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oxcaml

Working with the OxCaml extensions to OCaml. Use when the oxcaml compiler is available and you need high-performance, unboxing, stack allocation, data-race-free parallelism

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SKILL.md

You are writing code for the OxCaml compiler, a performance-focused fork of OCaml with Jane Street extensions. This guide covers OxCaml-specific features. You should already know standard OCaml.

Detailed Guides

For in-depth coverage of each feature, see:

Feature Guide
Modes (local, unique, once, portable, contended) SKILL-MODES.md
Stack Allocation (local_, stack_, exclave_) SKILL-STACK-ALLOCATION.md
Unboxed Types (float#, int32#, mixed blocks) SKILL-UNBOXED.md
Kinds (value, float64, bits32, kind products) SKILL-KINDS.md
Uniqueness (unique/aliased, once/many) SKILL-UNIQUENESS.md
Comprehensions (list/array builders) SKILL-COMPREHENSIONS.md
SIMD (vector types, SSE/AVX intrinsics) SKILL-SIMD.md
Templates (ppx_template, mangling) SKILL-TEMPLATES.md
Zero-Alloc ([@zero_alloc] checking) SKILL-ZERO-ALLOC.md
Base Library (OxCaml extensions) SKILL-BASE.md
Core Library (OxCaml extensions) SKILL-CORE.md

Quick Reference: Syntax Cheat Sheet

ocaml
(* Stack allocation *)
let f () = exclave_ stack_ (1, 2)      (* allocate on stack, return local *)
let g (x @ local) = ...                 (* local parameter *)

(* Unboxed types *)
let x : float# = #3.14                  (* unboxed float *)
let y : int32# = #42l                   (* unboxed int32 *)
type t = { a : int; b : float# }        (* mixed block record *)

(* Modes on values *)
let f (x @ local unique once) = ...     (* multiple modes *)
val g : t @ global -> t @ local         (* in signatures *)

(* Kinds on types *)
type ('a : float64) t = ...             (* kind annotation *)
val f : ('a : value). 'a -> 'a          (* kind-polymorphic *)

(* Comprehensions *)
[ x * 2 for x = 1 to 10 when x mod 2 = 0 ]
[| y for y in arr when y > 0 |]

(* Labeled tuples *)
let pair = ~x:1, ~y:2                   (* labeled tuple *)
let ~x, ~y = pair                       (* destructuring *)

(* Immutable arrays *)
let arr : int iarray = [: 1; 2; 3 :]
let x = arr.:(0)

(* Unboxed tuple destructuring - use #(...) pattern *)
let #(a, b) = some_unboxed_pair
let #(x, y, z) = fork_join3 par f1 f2 f3

(* Zero-alloc annotation *)
let[@zero_alloc] fast_add x y = x + y

1. Modes

Modes track runtime properties of values. Each mode axis is independent.

Mode Axes

Axis Values Default Purpose
Locality local, global global Where value lives (stack vs heap)
Uniqueness unique, aliased aliased Number of references
Linearity once, many many How often closures can be called
Portability portable, shareable, nonportable nonportable Cross-thread safety
Contention contended, shared, uncontended uncontended Thread access patterns

Syntax

ocaml
(* On parameters *)
let f (x @ local) = ...
let f (x @ local unique) = ...       (* multiple modes *)

(* On return types in signatures *)
val f : t @ local -> t @ global
val g : t @ unique once -> t @ aliased many

(* On expressions *)
let x = (expr : t @ local)

(* On let bindings *)
let local_ x = ...                    (* shorthand for local *)
let global_ x = ...

(* On record fields - modalities *)
type t = {
  global_ data : int;                 (* always global *)
  mutable x : int @@ aliased;         (* aliased modality *)
}

Subtyping Rules

More restrictive modes can be used where less restrictive are expected:

  • localglobal (can use local where global expected? NO - reversed)
  • globallocal (can use global where local expected)
  • uniquealiased (can use unique where aliased expected)
  • manyonce (can use many where once expected)
  • portableshareablenonportable
  • uncontendedsharedcontended

2. Stack Allocation (Locality)

Stack-allocated values avoid GC overhead but cannot escape their scope.

Key Constructs

ocaml
(* Allocate on stack *)
let f () =
  let local_ x = (1, 2) in            (* stack-allocated tuple *)
  ...

(* Force stack allocation *)
let f () =
  stack_ (1, 2)                        (* explicitly stack-allocate *)

(* Return local value from function *)
let f () = exclave_
  stack_ (1, 2)                        (* return value allocated in caller's frame *)

(* Combined pattern for local returns *)
let f () = exclave_ stack_ (make_tuple ())

Rules

  1. Local values CANNOT escape their defining scope (no storing in globals, no returning without exclave_)
  2. Local values CAN reference global values
  3. Global values CANNOT reference local values
  4. exclave_ allocates in caller's stack frame and must be at tail position

Common Patterns

ocaml
(* Process local data without allocation *)
let sum_pairs (pairs @ local) =
  List.fold_left (fun acc (a, b) -> acc + a + b) 0 pairs

(* Return local from function *)
let make_pair x y = exclave_ stack_ (x, y)

(* Local references for accumulators *)
let count_positives lst =
  let local_ r = ref 0 in
  List.iter (fun x -> if x > 0 then r := !r + 1) lst;
  !r

3. Unboxed Types

Unboxed types store values directly without heap allocation.

Built-in Unboxed Types

ocaml
(* Numeric types - # suffix means unboxed *)
float#     (* 64-bit float, kind float64 *)
int32#     (* 32-bit int, kind bits32 *)
int64#     (* 64-bit int, kind bits64 *)
nativeint# (* native int, kind word *)
float32#   (* 32-bit float, kind float32 *)
int8#      (* 8-bit int - untagged *)
int16#     (* 16-bit int - untagged *)
int#       (* native int - untagged *)
char#      (* 8-bit char - untagged, same layout as int8# *)

(* Literals use # prefix *)
let x : float# = #3.14
let y : int32# = #42l
let z : int64# = #100L
let w : float32# = #1.0s
let a : int8# = #42s       (* int8# literal *)
let b : int16# = #42S      (* int16# literal *)
let c : char# = #'x'       (* char# literal *)

(* Boxed versions (heap-allocated) *)
let a : float = 3.14       (* boxed *)
let b : float# = #3.14     (* unboxed *)

Untagged Int Arrays (New in 5.2.0minus-25)

Arrays of untagged types are packed for memory efficiency:

ocaml
(* Untagged int arrays - tightly packed *)
let bytes : int8# array = [| #0s; #1s; #255s |]
let shorts : int16# array = [| #0S; #1S; #32767S |]
let ints : int# array = [| #0; #1; #42 |]
let chars : char# array = [| #'a'; #'b'; #'c' |]

(* int8# array: 1 byte per element *)
(* int16# array: 2 bytes per element *)
(* int# array: native word size per element *)

Unboxed Records

ocaml
(* Unboxed record - stored inline, not heap-allocated *)
type point = #{ x : float#; y : float# }

(* Create unboxed record *)
let p : point = #{ x = #1.0; y = #2.0 }

(* Access fields *)
let get_x (p : point) = p.#x

Unboxed Tuples

ocaml
(* Unboxed tuple syntax *)
type pair = #(float# * int32#)

let p : #(float# * int32#) = #(#1.0, #42l)

Mixed Blocks

Records can mix boxed and unboxed fields:

ocaml
type mixed = {
  name : string;          (* boxed *)
  value : float#;         (* unboxed, stored flat *)
  count : int32#;         (* unboxed *)
}

or_null Type

Non-allocating option for nullable values:

ocaml
type 'a or_null = Null | This of 'a

(* Use for optional unboxed values without allocation *)
let find_float arr idx : float# or_null =
  if idx < Array.length arr then This arr.(idx)
  else Null

4. Kinds

Kinds classify types by their runtime representation.

Kind Hierarchy

any                           (* any layout *)
├── value                     (* standard OCaml boxed values *)
├── float64                   (* 64-bit floats *)
├── float32                   (* 32-bit floats *)
├── bits32                    (* 32-bit integers *)
├── bits64                    (* 64-bit integers *)
├── word                      (* native word size *)
└── void                      (* uninhabited *)

Kind Annotations

ocaml
(* On type parameters *)
type ('a : float64) container = ...

(* On type variables in signatures *)
val f : ('a : value). 'a -> 'a
val g : ('a : bits64). 'a -> 'a

(* On abstract types *)
type t : float64

(* Kind products for unboxed tuples *)
type pair : float64 & bits32    (* unboxed pair of float# and int32# *)

Kind Abbreviations

ocaml
value           = value_or_null mod non_null separable
immediate       = value mod external_
immediate64     = value mod external64
mutable_data    = value mod non_float
immutable_data  = value mod non_float immutable

Mode Bounds on Kinds

Kinds can specify which modes a type crosses:

ocaml
(* Type that cannot be used at mode local *)
type t : value mod global

(* Type that is always portable *)
type t : value mod portable

5. Uniqueness

Track values with exactly one reference for safe mutation/deallocation.

Modes

  • unique: Single reference exists
  • aliased: Multiple references may exist

Syntax

ocaml
(* Unique parameter - consumed by function *)
val free : t @ unique -> unit

(* Aliased return - may have multiple references *)
val duplicate : t -> t * t @ aliased

(* Once closures - can only be invoked once *)
val delay_free : t @ unique -> (unit -> unit) @ once

Uniqueness Rules

ocaml
(* OK: match then use uniquely *)
let ok t =
  match t with
  | Con { field } -> free t

(* ERROR: using parts twice *)
let bad t =
  match t with
  | Con { field } ->
    free_field field;   (* uses field *)
    free t              (* uses t which contains field *)

(* OK: different branches *)
let ok t =
  match t with
  | Con { field } ->
    if cond then free_field field
    else free t

Aliased Modality

Store aliased values in unique containers:

ocaml
type 'a aliased_box = { value : 'a @@ aliased } [@@unboxed]

(* Container is unique but contents are aliased *)
val push : 'a @ aliased -> 'a aliased_box list @ unique -> 'a aliased_box list @ unique

6. Comprehensions

Python/Haskell-style list and array builders.

List Comprehensions

ocaml
(* Basic *)
[ x * 2 for x = 1 to 10 ]

(* With filter *)
[ x for x = 1 to 100 when x mod 2 = 0 ]

(* Nested iteration *)
[ (x, y) for x = 1 to 3 for y = 1 to 3 ]

(* Iterate over list *)
[ String.uppercase s for s in strings ]

(* Multiple conditions *)
[ x + y for x = 1 to 10 for y = 1 to 10 when x < y when x + y < 15 ]

(* Parallel iteration (evaluated together) *)
[ x + y for x = 1 to 3 and y = 10 to 12 ]

Array Comprehensions

ocaml
(* Same syntax with [| |] *)
[| x * x for x = 1 to 10 |]

(* Iterate over array *)
[| f elem for elem in source_array |]

Immutable Array Comprehensions

ocaml
[: x for x = 1 to 10 when x mod 2 = 0 :]

Key Differences: for vs and

  • for ... for ...: Nested (inner re-evaluated each outer iteration)
  • for ... and ...: Parallel (both evaluated once upfront)
ocaml
(* Nested: 9 elements *)
[ (x, y) for x = 1 to 3 for y = 1 to 3 ]

(* Parallel: 3 elements *)
[ (x, y) for x = 1 to 3 and y = 10 to 12 ]
(* = [(1,10); (2,11); (3,12)] *)

7. SIMD Vector Types

128-bit and 256-bit SIMD vectors for parallel numeric operations.

Types

ocaml
(* 128-bit vectors *)
int8x16    int8x16#      (* 16 x 8-bit ints *)
int16x8    int16x8#      (* 8 x 16-bit ints *)
int32x4    int32x4#      (* 4 x 32-bit ints *)
int64x2    int64x2#      (* 2 x 64-bit ints *)
float32x4  float32x4#    (* 4 x 32-bit floats *)
float64x2  float64x2#    (* 2 x 64-bit floats *)

(* 256-bit vectors *)
int8x32    int8x32#
int32x8    int32x8#
float64x4  float64x4#
(* etc. *)

Usage

ocaml
open Ocaml_simd_sse

let v = Float32x4.set 1.0 2.0 3.0 4.0
let v = Float32x4.sqrt v
let x, y, z, w = Float32x4.splat v

(* Load from arrays *)
let v = Int8x16.String.get text ~byte:0

C Stubs

ocaml
external vec_op : (int8x16[@unboxed]) -> (int8x16[@unboxed]) =
  "boxed_stub" "unboxed_stub"

8. Templates (ppx_template)

Generate multiple copies of code with different modes/kinds.

Mode Templates

ocaml
(* Define once, get local and global versions *)
let%template[@mode m = (global, local)] id
  : 'a. 'a @ m -> 'a @ m
  = fun x -> x

(* Generates: id (global) and id__local *)

(* Instantiate *)
let f x = (id [@mode local]) x

Kind Templates

ocaml
let%template[@kind k = (value, float64)] id
  : ('a : k). 'a -> 'a
  = fun x -> x

(* Generates: id (value) and id__float64 *)

Exclave Conditional

ocaml
let%template[@mode m = (global, local)] make_pair x y =
  (x, y) [@exclave_if_local m]

(* local version gets: exclave_ (x, y) *)

Alloc Templates

ocaml
let%template rec map
  : f:('a -> 'b @ m) -> 'a list -> 'b list @ m
  = fun ~f list ->
    match[@exclave_if_stack a] list with
    | [] -> []
    | hd :: tl -> f hd :: (map [@alloc a]) ~f tl
[@@alloc a @ m = (heap_global, stack_local)]

Portable Functors

ocaml
(* Short form for portable/nonportable functor variants *)
module%template.portable Make (M : S) : T

Default Floating Attributes

ocaml
[%%template:
[@@@mode.default m = (global, local)]

val min : t @ m -> t @ m -> t @ m
val max : t @ m -> t @ m -> t @ m]

9. Zero-Alloc Checking

Compile-time verification that functions don't allocate.

Basic Usage

ocaml
(* Check function doesn't allocate *)
let[@zero_alloc] fast_add x y = x + y

(* Allow local/stack allocations *)
let[@zero_alloc] with_local_pair x y =
  let p = stack_ (x, y) in
  fst p + snd p

(* Only check in optimized builds *)
let[@zero_alloc opt] complex_func x = ...

(* Strict: no allocation even on error paths *)
let[@zero_alloc strict] very_strict x = ...

Assume Annotations

ocaml
(* Trust this function is zero-alloc *)
let[@zero_alloc assume] external_wrapper x = external_func x

(* Assume for error paths *)
let[@cold][@zero_alloc assume error] handle_error e =
  log_error e;
  default_value

In Signatures

ocaml
val[@zero_alloc] f : int -> int
val[@zero_alloc strict] g : t -> t
val[@zero_alloc arity 2] h : int -> int -> int

File-Level

ocaml
[@@@zero_alloc all]  (* All functions must be zero-alloc *)

let[@zero_alloc ignore] allowed_to_alloc x = [x]  (* Opt out *)

10. Parallelism & Capsules

Safe parallel programming with thread isolation.

Contention Modes

  • contended: May be accessed from multiple threads concurrently
  • shared: May be accessed from multiple threads (for shared state)
  • uncontended: Single-thread access

Portability Modes

  • portable: Safe to move across thread boundaries, captures all values at contended
  • shareable: May execute in parallel, captures shared state
  • nonportable: Thread-local only, captures uncontended mutable state

Capsules (Experimental)

Capsules isolate mutable state for safe parallelism:

ocaml
(* Capsule contains thread-local mutable state *)
type 'a capsule

(* Access requires entering capsule context *)
val with_capsule : 'a capsule -> ('a @ local -> 'b) -> 'b

11. Miscellaneous Extensions

Labeled Tuples

ocaml
(* Create *)
let point = ~x:10, ~y:20

(* Type *)
type point = x:int * y:int

(* Destructure *)
let ~x, ~y = point

(* Partial match (needs type annotation) *)
let get_x (p : x:int * y:int) =
  let ~x, .. = p in x

(* Function returning labeled tuple *)
val dimensions : image -> width:int * height:int

Immutable Arrays

ocaml
(* Syntax uses : instead of | *)
let arr : string iarray = [: "a"; "b"; "c" :]

(* Access *)
let first = arr.:(0)

(* Covariant - allows safe subtyping *)
let arr2 : obj iarray = (arr : sub_obj iarray :> obj iarray)

Include Functor

ocaml
(* Instead of *)
module M = struct
  module T = struct
    type t = ...
    [@@deriving compare, sexp]
  end
  include T
  include Comparable.Make(T)
end

(* Write *)
module M = struct
  type t = ...
  [@@deriving compare, sexp]

  include functor Comparable.Make
end

Let Mutable

ocaml
(* Mutable local variable - no allocation *)
let triangle n =
  let mutable total = 0 in
  for i = 1 to n do
    total <- total + i
  done;
  total

Restrictions: Cannot escape scope, no closure capture, single variable only.

Polymorphic Parameters

ocaml
(* Function taking polymorphic argument *)
let create (f : 'a. 'a field -> 'a) =
  { a = f A; b = f B }

val create : ('a. 'a field -> 'a) -> t

Small Numbers

ocaml
(* Types *)
float32   float32#
int8      int8#
int16     int16#
char#

(* Literals *)
1.0s    (* float32 *)
#1.0s   (* float32# *)
42s     (* int8 *)
#42s    (* int8# *)
42S     (* int16 *)
#42S    (* int16# *)
#'a'    (* char# *)

(* Arrays - now supported and packed! *)
int8 array    int8# array     (* 1 byte per element *)
int16 array   int16# array    (* 2 bytes per element *)
char# array                   (* 1 byte per element *)

(* Pattern matching with char# ranges *)
match c with
| #'a'..#'z' -> `lowercase
| #'A'..#'Z' -> `uppercase
| _ -> `other

Module Strengthening

ocaml
(* Instead of *)
sig type t = M.t end

(* Write *)
S with M

Common Patterns

Zero-Alloc Hot Path

ocaml
let[@zero_alloc] process_batch (data @ local) =
  let local_ acc = ref 0 in
  for i = 0 to Array.length data - 1 do
    acc := !acc + process_item data.(i)
  done;
  !acc

Local Allocation in Loop

ocaml
let process_all items =
  List.iter (fun item ->
    let local_ temp = compute item in
    use temp
  ) items

Unique Resource Management

ocaml
type handle

val open_handle : unit -> handle @ unique
val use_handle : handle @ unique -> result * handle @ unique
val close_handle : handle @ unique -> unit

let with_handle f =
  let h = open_handle () in
  let result, h = use_handle h in
  close_handle h;
  result

Mode-Polymorphic Function

ocaml
let%template[@mode m = (global, local)] map_pair f (a, b) =
  ((f a, f b) [@exclave_if_local m])

Kind-Polymorphic Container

ocaml
type%template ('a : k) box = { contents : 'a }
[@@kind k = (value, float64, bits64)]

Debugging Tips

  1. Mode errors: Check if you're trying to return local data globally
  2. Kind errors: Ensure type parameters have correct layout annotations
  3. Zero-alloc failures: Use -zero-alloc-checker-details-cutoff -1 for full details
  4. Template issues: Check mangled names with __suffix pattern

Library Dependencies

Core Libraries

  • stdlib_stable: Immutable arrays (Iarray), Float32, Int8, Int16, Char_u
  • base: Jane Street's standard library with comprehensive OxCaml mode support
    • IMPORTANT: Consult SKILL-BASE.md for OxCaml-friendly functions!
    • Contains 116 modules with extensive local/exclave, mode, and unboxed type support
    • Key modules: Modes (modal wrappers), Iarray (immutable arrays with local ops), Container_with_local, and __local variants of most collection functions
  • core: Extended library with I/O, async, and system features
    • See SKILL-CORE.md for Iobuf, Time_ns, Bigstring extensions

PPX Libraries

  • ppx_template: Mode/kind polymorphism via code generation
    • See SKILL-TEMPLATES.md for mangling details
  • ppx_simd: SIMD shuffle/blend mask generation

SIMD Libraries

  • ocaml_simd: Base SIMD types
  • ocaml_simd_sse: SSE intrinsics (128-bit)
  • ocaml_simd_avx: AVX/AVX2 intrinsics (256-bit)
  • See SKILL-SIMD.md for usage details

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