FW: Consortium Caml

[Simon Peyton-Jones]

Here's an interesting model for collaboration which the
Caml folk are taking up.

Simon

-----Original Message-----
From: Michel Mauny [mailto:Michel.Mauny@inria.fr]
Sent: 26 January 2001 21:38
To: caml-list@inria.fr
Subject: Consortium Caml


-- [ English version below ] ---


Dear Colleagues,

We are pleased to announce the creation of the Caml Consortium, whose
aim is to federate the design and development efforts around the Caml
programming language. The Caml Consortium will therefore try to bring
together, around the language development team, industries, research
centres and educational establishments interested in contributing
their support to the design and development of the language and
related tools.


Comprising a group of highly-motivated users, the Consortium will be
the place where the members can identify their common requirements,
exchange their experiences and solutions, and co-operate to propose a
particular development of general interest. One of the Consortium's
roles is therefore to be a place where users of the language can meet
and exchange information.  It is here that a true community will be
created with the specific intention of assisting in the development of
the language and to provide it with such a visibility that this
community will expand by itself.

The motivation and industrial importance of its members will also
attract companies to the Consortium which want to be present on the
Caml applications and training market. Another role of the Consortium
will therefore be to attract new members, whether they are users of
the language or service providers.

Finally, the Consortium will provide a response to the question on the
language's continuity. The essential elements for the continuity of a
programming language are the continuity of its compilers (or their
free availability), its user base, and the volume of existing (stable)
codes. The success of the Caml Consortium will make it possible to
measure the user base and the volume of the existing Caml code. As for
the availability and development of the Caml compilers, these are
already freely distributed with their sources. If INRIA decides at
some point to withdraw from Caml development, and therefore to
dissolve the Caml Consortium as it presently stands, the members of
the Consortium will be sufficiently numerous, they will have
sufficiently diversified profiles, and the market for the language
will be such that the members of the Consortium will have no
difficulty in continuing the existence and development of the
language. INRIA will facilitate this transition, which is in the
general interest.

For more information, I suggest that you consult

     http://caml.inria.fr/consortium/

Best regards,

-- Michel Mauny