ocaml / ocaml/dune

Introduce a literal syntax for booleans

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OCaml
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Description

Currently, we serialize variables into the lock directory as strings and then decode them and guess their types from the string representation. E.g. false is the boolean false. Unfortunately, this means that we don't have a way of representing the string "false" anymore. I don't think this is an issue in practice yet, but it would be nice to just avoid such embarrassing issues from the get go.

cc @gridbugs

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Research direction

Start by locating the code that serializes variables into the lock directory and decodes their string representations. Trace how boolean values are currently inferred, then define a representation that distinguishes the boolean false from the string "false". Done means both values round-trip distinctly, with tests covering the new literal syntax.

Written by the indexing model from the issue text.

Assessment

Tech stack
ocaml
Domain
build-system
Issue type
Feature
Difficulty
4/5
Estimated time
3-5 days
Activity status
Stale
Clarity
Mostly clear
Newbie friendliness
35/100

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