I’m hunting for my perfect web application language (sure to be a future post). So I’ve been exploring OCaml. I prefer Nix for configuring development environments. It keeps things self-contained and increases the chances that I won’t have painful setup issues when I revisit projects months or years later.

I created a flake.nix that configured OCaml and used ocaml-overlay to add Dream to my development environment:

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{
  description = "Expiments in ocaml";

  inputs = {
    nixpkgs.url = "github:nixos/nixpkgs?ref=nixos-unstable";
    flake-parts.url = "github:hercules-ci/flake-parts";
    ocaml-overlay = {
      url = "github:nix-ocaml/nix-overlays";
      inputs.nixpkgs.follows = "nixpkgs";
    };
  };

  outputs = inputs@{ self, nixpkgs, flake-parts, ocaml-overlay, ... }:
    flake-parts.lib.mkFlake { inherit inputs; } {
      systems = [ "aarch64-darwin" "x86_64-linux" "aarch64-linux" ];

      perSystem = { pkgs, system, inputs', ... }: {
        _module.args.pkgs = import inputs.nixpkgs {
          inherit system;
          config.allowUnfree = true;
          overlays = [
            ocaml-overlay.overlays.default
          ];
        };

        packages = { };
        devShells.default = pkgs.mkShell {
          buildInputs = with pkgs; [
            ocaml
            ocamlPackages.dune_3
            ocamlPackages.findlib
            ocamlPackages.ocamlformat
            ocamlPackages.ocaml-lsp
            ocamlPackages.utop

            ocamlPackages.dream
            ocamlPackages.dream-html
          ];
        };
      };
    };
}

This got me up and running until I wanted to use the live reload functionality described in the published documentation. Unfortunately, this feature is only present on main not the 1.0.0.0-alpha5 release present in OPAM and ocaml-overlay.

Hello (again) world!

I’ve sorely neglected this site. It’s been four years since last post. I got the urge to write today and…wow…what pain.

The prior version of this site was a bespoke Next.js app forked from somewhere forgotten. I attempted to run it with npm i && npm run dev. Wall of inscrutable errors. Something must have changed with Node.js in the last four years. Next.js v9 must not be compatible. This is not how I’m spending the afternoon.

Title: Team Topologies: Organizing Business and Technology Teams for Fast Flow by Matthew Skelton and Manuel Pais
ISBN: 1942788819
Date Read: April 2020
Recommended: 10/10

When I read non-fiction books I highlight salient points. I then export these notes to act as a point of reference for my future self. I may also share them with colleagues to quickly bring them up to speed with key points. All quotes reference a Kindle “page” location. My biggest take-aways are highlighted.

I struggled for some time with intense wrist pain. I suspected this was due to poor ergonomics while computing. Over the years I iterated through a variety of input devices (Microsoft Sculpt, Trackman Marble Wheel, Magic Trackpad) with limited success. My current setup has finally alleviated my pain. I can use the computer for a full work day plus hobby project time — all pain-free. The key to my setup is an Ergodox EZ keyboard and a handful of software tricks.