Machine learning in OCaml or Haskell?

Question

I\'m hoping to use either Haskell or OCaml on a new project because R is too slow. I need to be able to use support vectory machines, ideally separating out each execution to r

Answer 1

As far as multi-language integration goes, combining C and Haskell is remarkably easy, and I say this as someone who is (unlike dons) not really much of an expert on either. Any other language that integrates well with C shouldn't be much trickier; you can always fall back to a thin interface layer in C if nothing else. For better or worse, C is still the lingua franca of programming, so Haskell is more than acceptable for most cases.

...but. You say you're motivated by performance issues, and want to use "a functional language". From this I infer you're not previously familiar with the languages you ask about. Among Haskell's defining features are that it, by default, uses non-strict evaluation and immutable data structures--which are both incredibly useful in many ways, but it also means that optimizing Haskell for performance is often dramatically different from other languages, and well-honed instincts may lead you astray in baffling ways. You may want to browse performance-related topics on the Haskell wiki to get a feel for the issues.

Which isn't to say that you can't do what you want in Haskell--you certainly can. Both laziness and immutability can in fact be exploited for performance benefits (Chris Okasaki's thesis provides some nice examples). But be aware that there'll be a bit of a learning curve when it comes to dealing with performance.

Both Haskell and OCaml provide the lovely benefits of using an ML-family language, but for most programmers, OCaml is likely to offer a gentler learning curve and better immediate results.