The SML.NET compiler

NEW: SML.NET has now been released.

What is ML?

ML is a programming language originally developed at the University of Edinburgh around twenty years ago. There are now two variants: Standard ML (also known as SML), which has a formal definition most recently revised in 1997, and O'Caml, developed at INRIA in Paris.

What is ML like?

ML is a high-level language that abstracts away from the machine so that the programmer doesn't have to worry about low-level details like memory management, data representation and pointer chasing. It therefore has advantages of increased productivity, clearer and more maintainable code, and fewer errors. Its features include:

	Static type checking and type inference
	Garbage collection
	Exception handling
	Parameterized types and parametric polymorphism
	Recursive datatypes and pattern matching
	Mutable references
	First-class functions
	Sophisticated module system with parameterized modules

What is ML good for?

ML is particularly good for language-processing, hence its widespread use amongst the research community in compilers, interpreters, program analysis tools, theorem provers and formal verifiers. But the advantages listed above make it useful for many applications.

What is SML.NET?

SML.NET is a Standard ML compiler developed at Microsoft Research Cambridge that targets the .NET Common Language Runtime (CLR). It's very easy to use: tell it where your source code lives, give it the name of a "root" structure, and it produces an assembler file which it then runs through the CLR assembler to produce an executable or DLL. The code that it produces is verifiable.