Ocaml Code Style

OCaml Code Style

Core Philosophy

1. Interface-First: Design .mli first. Clean interface > clever implementation.
2. Modularity: Small, focused modules. Compose for larger systems.
3. Simplicity (KISS): Clarity over conciseness. Avoid obscure constructs.
4. Explicitness: Explicit control flow and error handling. No exceptions for recoverable errors.
5. Purity: Prefer pure functions. Isolate side-effects at edges.
6. NEVER use Obj.magic: Breaks type safety. Always a better solution.

Naming Conventions

Function naming:

• find_* returns option (may not exist)
• get_* returns value directly (must exist)

Avoid: Long names with many underscores (get_user_profile_data_from_database_by_id).

Refactoring Patterns

Option/Result Combinators

(* Before *)
match get_value () with Some x -> Some (x + 1) | None -> None

(* After *)
Option.map (fun x -> x + 1) (get_value ())

Prefer: Option.map, Option.bind, Option.value, Result.map, Result.bind

Monadic Syntax (let*/let+)

(* Before - nested matches *)
match fetch_user id with
| Ok user -> (match fetch_perms user with Ok p -> Ok (user, p) | Error e -> Error e)
| Error e -> Error e

(* After *)
let open Result.Syntax in
let* user = fetch_user id in
let+ perms = fetch_perms user in
(user, perms)

Pattern Matching Over Conditionals

(* Before *)
if x > 0 then if x < 10 then "small" else "large" else "negative"

(* After *)
match x with
| x when x < 0 -> "negative"
| x when x < 10 -> "small"
| _ -> "large"

Function Design

Keep functions small: Under 50 lines. One purpose per function.

Avoid deep nesting: Max 4 levels of match/if. Extract helpers.

High complexity signal: Many branches = split into focused helpers.

(* Bad - high complexity *)
let check x y z =
  if x > 0 then if y > 0 then if z > 0 then ... else ... else ... else ...

(* Good - factored *)
let all_positive x y z = x > 0 && y > 0 && z > 0
let check x y z = if not (all_positive x y z) then "invalid" else ...

Error Handling

Use result for recoverable errors. Exceptions only for programming errors.

Never catch-all:

(* Bad *)
try f () with _ -> default

(* Good *)
try f () with Failure _ -> default

Don't silence warnings: Fix the issue, don't use [@warning "-nn"].

Library Preferences

Module Hygiene

Abstract types: Keep type t abstract. Expose smart constructors.

(* Good - .mli *)
type t
val create : name:string -> t
val name : t -> string
val pp : t Fmt.t

Avoid generic names: Not Util, Helpers. Use String_ext, Json_codec.

API Design

Avoid boolean blindness:

(* Bad *)
let create_widget visible bordered = ...
let w = create_widget true false  (* What does this mean? *)

(* Good *)
type visibility = Visible | Hidden
let create_widget ~visibility ~border = ...

Red Flags

• Match that just rewraps: Some v -> Some (f v) | None -> None
• Nested Result/Option matches → use let*/let+
• Deep if/then/else → pattern matching
• Missing pp function on types
• Unlabeled boolean parameters
• Obj.magic anywhere