1. Cleaner syntax. F# shows that we can do away with a lot of the visual noise in OCaml. I’m no particular fan of white space scoping, but I also don’t mind it.
2. Much better thought out standard library. The OCaml standard library was clearly accreted over long periods, with no strong designer making hard choices about naming and such. The example that keeps coming back to me is “big_int” vs all the other integer data types.
I believe #2 is what the OP meant by “minimal runtime.” A minimal F# will still need a good set of data types, a string library, etc.
Pretty much what wyoung2 said. F# feels much more modern than OCaml, with fewer weird warts. I don't know much about .NET, other than that I don't want it, just like I don't want the JVM.
1. Cleaner syntax. F# shows that we can do away with a lot of the visual noise in OCaml. I’m no particular fan of white space scoping, but I also don’t mind it.
2. Much better thought out standard library. The OCaml standard library was clearly accreted over long periods, with no strong designer making hard choices about naming and such. The example that keeps coming back to me is “big_int” vs all the other integer data types.
I believe #2 is what the OP meant by “minimal runtime.” A minimal F# will still need a good set of data types, a string library, etc.