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31 <div class="paragraph"><p>The ML Basis system extends <a href="StandardML">Standard ML</a> to support
32 programming-in-the-very-large, namespace management at the module
33 level, separate delivery of library sources, and more. While Standard
34 ML modules are a sophisticated language for programming-in-the-large,
35 it is difficult, if not impossible, to accomplish a number of routine
36 namespace management operations when a program draws upon multiple
37 libraries provided by different vendors.</p></div>
38 <div class="paragraph"><p>The ML Basis system is a simple, yet powerful, approach that builds
39 upon the programmer’s intuitive notion (and
40 <a href="DefinitionOfStandardML"> The Definition of Standard ML (Revised)</a>'s
41 formal notion) of the top-level environment (a <em>basis</em>). The system
42 is designed as a natural extension of <a href="StandardML"> Standard ML</a>; the
43 formal specification of the ML Basis system
44 (<a href="MLBasis.attachments/mlb-formal.pdf"><span class="monospaced">mlb-formal.pdf</span></a>) is given in the style
45 of the Definition.</p></div>
46 <div class="paragraph"><p>Here are some of the key features of the ML Basis system:</p></div>
47 <div class="olist arabic"><ol class="arabic">
50 Explicit file order: The order of files (and, hence, the order of
51 evaluation) in the program is explicit. The ML Basis system’s
52 semantics are structured in such a way that for any well-formed
53 project, there will be exactly one possible interpretation of the
54 project’s syntax, static semantics, and dynamic semantics.
59 Implicit dependencies: A source file (corresponding to an SML
60 top-level declaration) is elaborated in the environment described by
61 preceding declarations. It is not necessary to explicitly list the
62 dependencies of a file.
67 Scoping and renaming: The ML Basis system provides mechanisms for
68 limiting the scope of (i.e, hiding) and renaming identifiers.
73 No naming convention for finding the file that defines a module.
74 To import a module, its defining file must appear in some ML Basis
82 <h2 id="_next_steps">Next steps</h2>
83 <div class="sectionbody">
84 <div class="ulist"><ul>
87 <a href="MLBasisSyntaxAndSemantics">MLBasisSyntaxAndSemantics</a>
92 <a href="MLBasisExamples">MLBasisExamples</a>
97 <a href="MLBasisPathMap">MLBasisPathMap</a>
102 <a href="MLBasisAnnotations">MLBasisAnnotations</a>
107 <a href="MLBasisAvailableLibraries">MLBasisAvailableLibraries</a>
114 <div id="footnotes"><hr></div>
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