Embark on a journey into the world of OCaml, a powerful multi-paradigm programming language that offers a unique blend of functional, object-oriented, and imperative programming styles. Known for its robust type system that ensures code safety and reliability, OCaml is a favorite among tech giants like Facebook, Microsoft, Bloomberg, and Jane Street.
With OCaml, developers have the flexibility to tackle a wide range of tasks, from writing compilers to building web-crawling applications, making it a versatile and practical choice for various projects.
If you’re eager to learn a language that combines efficiency, expressiveness, and practicality like no other, dive into our curated list of top OCaml courses in this Best Courses Guide (BCG).
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Here are our top picks
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What is OCaml?
OCaml stands as a general-purpose, statically-typed programming language that places emphasis on expressiveness and safety. Originating in 1996 as an extension of the Meta Language Caml dialect by Xavier Leroy and the INRIA team in France, OCaml evolved from a purely academic language to a practical solution for real-world applications.
Equipped with a robust type system, OCaml catches errors at compile-time, ensuring the correctness and safety of the code. Its algebraic data types enable powerful pattern-matching capabilities, facilitating concise and expressive data manipulation.
While promoting functional programming practices, OCaml also supports imperative and object-oriented programming paradigms, offering developers the flexibility to choose the most suitable approach for their projects. Additionally, OCaml’s performance and seamless integration with other languages like C and JavaScript make it an ideal choice for diverse applications.
From academic institutions to industry giants like Facebook and Bloomberg, OCaml has found its niche in various domains, including compilers, trading systems, theorem verification, and financial risk management.
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Courses Overview
- All courses are free or free-to-audit
- Courses are beginner-friendly but not suitable for complete programming beginners
- Two courses are from universities, while others are from independent providers
Our top pick for an OCaml course is the “OCaml Programming: Correct + Efficient + Beautiful” from Cornell University. This free course combines comprehensive written explanations, visual demonstrations, and coding exercises to provide a thorough understanding of OCaml.
With a focus on functional programming, data structures, correctness, and efficiency, this course equips learners with the foundational knowledge of OCaml to build quality software. Prior programming experience and a basic discrete mathematics course are prerequisites for this course.
In this course, participants will:
- Master OCaml basics, including syntax, expressions, and functions
- Delve into the functional programming style using OCaml’s REPL
- Explore OCaml’s syntax and learn to write concise, expressive, correct, and efficient code
- Discover functional programming concepts such as parametric polymorphism, algebraic data types, and pattern matching
- Implement data structures using imperative and functional programming and assess their efficiency
- Design and develop domain-specific languages (DSLs) for specific purposes
Presented by Michael R. Clarkson, a professor at Cornell University, these videos and the accompanying textbook serve as materials for the CS 3110 Data Structures and Functional Programming course. The positive feedback on the course content led to its availability for a broader audience interested in OCaml and functional programming.
| Institution | Cornell University |
| Instructor | Michael R. Clarkson |
| Level | Beginner |
| Workload | N/A |
| Certificate | None |
Introduction to Functional Programming in OCaml offered by Université de Paris introduces learners to the core principles of functional programming using OCaml. From basic concepts to advanced techniques, this course guides participants through the journey of mastering OCaml as a functional and multi-paradigm language.
Prior programming experience is recommended to make the most out of this course. Key learning points include working with immutable data structures, understanding recursion, functional programming concepts, and imperative programming constructs in OCaml.
| Institution | Université de Paris |
| Provider | YouTube |
| Instructors | Roberto Di Cosmo, Yann Regis-Gianas, and Ralf Treinen |
| Level | Beginner |
| Workload | 7 hours |
| Views | 5.4K |
| Certificate | None |
Programming with OCaml is a beginner-friendly course that introduces learners to the fundamentals of programming with OCaml. Ideal for beginners with no prior OCaml experience, this course presents the basics of OCaml programming and its unique features compared to traditional languages.
This course is suitable for anyone looking to kickstart their OCaml journey, and future content in the Narlock OCaml programming tutorial series will delve deeper into the language.
| Channel | narlock |
| Provider | YouTube |
| Instructor | Anthony Narlock |
| Level | Beginner |
| Workload | 1 hour |
| Views | 943 |
| Certificate | None |
Immerse yourself in the OCaml language through practical examples with the Ocaml By Example course! This course requires no prior experience with OCaml and is designed to take learners from the basics to more advanced concepts.
From basic constructs to advanced topics like data structures, algorithms, and error handling, this course covers a wide array of OCaml features essential for becoming proficient in the language.
| Institution | O(1) Labs |
| Provider | GitHub |
| Level | Beginner |
| Workload | N/A | Stars | 30 |
| Certificate | None |
Jane Street’s OCaml Workshop offers hands-on exercises and projects to help learners delve deeper into OCaml programming. From arcade game clones to more advanced projects, this workshop provides a practical approach to mastering OCaml.
Whether it’s understanding OCaml features or developing complex projects, this workshop caters to a range of skill levels and interests in the OCaml language.
| Institution | Jane Street |
| Provider | OCaml |
| Level | Beginner | Workload | N/A | Stars | 551 |
| Certificate | None |
The OCaml Software Foundation’s Learn OCaml site offers a wide range of coding challenges for learners to practice their OCaml skills. From basic exercises to more advanced problems, this platform provides an opportunity to deepen your understanding of OCaml programming.
Experience with OCaml is recommended to tackle these exercises effectively. Challenge yourself with varying levels of difficulty and enhance your OCaml coding proficiency in a practical, hands-on manner.
| Organization | OCaml Software Foundation |
| Website | ocaml-sf.org |
| Level | All levels | Workload | N/A |
| Certificate | None |
