[k__]

As if the whole Reason/ReScript story wasn't complicated enough already :D

First, we had BuckleScript, that compiled OCaml to JavaScript to bring the OCaml type system to the Web.

Then we had Reason, that brought JS syntax to OCaml, so it's easier to grasp for JS devs.

Seemingly, some people didn't care about OCaml at all, and forked (I guess?) Reason to ReScript, that focused on JS compilation. They also added a few syntax changes in the process.

Now, the remaining (pre-fork) Reason people created a new(?) compiler that's an alternative to BuckleScript, and compiles OCaml and Reason to JS.

While I appreciate the effort, and think ReScript and Reason are superior to TypeScript, I totally understand why it didn't get as popular as this superiority implies.

[ElFitz]

That’s the tragedy and part of the strength of open source.

Some people are just bent on doing their thing, the way they want it.

I prefer the current situation to the one where the ReScript people took over Reason and changed its focus and syntax.

[KRAKRISMOTT]

The biggest issue with Reason and Elm is that they don't support integration with arbitrary npm packages. That's the fastest way to gain adoption. If you are going to launch a new frontend language and you are not google, the quickest method is to have out of the box compiler support for the existing JS ecosystem.

[danieloro515]

Both Melange and Rescript support using any arbitrary npm package or librrary

[nerdponx]

Wasn't there also another OCaml-to-Javascript compiler called called js_of_ocaml?

[LeonidasXIV]

There was and still is. It is actively maintained, works fairly well and has even recently been extended with support for multicore.

[reycharles]

Indeed, and I believe it predates all the other ones by quite a bit.