changelog: add a post about OCaml.org migration to Dune Developer Pre…

data/changelog/posts/dune-developer-preview/2025-06-10-migrating-ocaml-org.md

@@ -0,0 +1,174 @@
+---
+title: "Setting up OCaml.org as a Testing Ground for Dune Developer Preview"
+tags: [dune, developer-preview, ocaml-org]
+authors: ["Sabine Schmaltz", "Leandro Ostera", "Sudha Parimala"]
+---
+
+The OCaml.org website is undergoing a build setup change as it migrates to Dune Developer Preview. This migration serves a dual purpose: modernizing the website's build process to use Dune package management while providing a real-world testing environment for Dune's experimental features exposed through the [Dune Developer Preview](https://preview.dune.build?utm_source=ocaml.org&utm_medium=referral&utm_campaign=changelog).
+
+## Why This Migration Matters
+
+OCaml.org is one of the most visible projects in the OCaml ecosystem. By migrating it to Dune Developer Preview, we are creating an environment that will help identify issues and refine new Dune workflows before their stable release.
+
+We are currently tracking the state of the migration in [pull request #3132](https://github.com/ocaml/ocaml.org/pull/3132). We're about to finish the work and merge the PR soon!
+
+## Technical Challenges and Solutions
+
+Migrating OCaml.org to use Dune Developer Preview has revealed several interesting technical aspects that other projects may encounter when adopting Dune package management:
+
+### How to Configure Nested Dune Projects
+
+One of the first hurdles encountered was dealing with nested Dune projects. The OCaml.org codebase contains a playground project nested within the main website project, making workspace management slightly trickier than expected.
+
+> **Note:** This is not a standard or recommended setup, but it happens to be how OCaml.org has historically grown as a project. The playground is a part of the site that is not updated very often, and we only regenerate it (and commit the build artefacts) when the playground is updated to a new version or gets new features. Specifically, the OCaml version used in the playground does not have to be the same as the one used for the main site.
+
+The solution we went with was to use **two separate `dune-workspace` files** - one for the main OCaml.org site and one for the playground.
+
+**Step-by-step solution for the OCaml.org structure:**
+
+1. **Create the main [`dune-workspace`](https://github.com/ocaml/ocaml.org/blob/main/dune-workspace)** file in the repository root:
+   ```lisp
+   ; dune-workspace (at repository root)
+   (lang dune 3.19)
+   ```
+
+2. **Create a separate [`dune-workspace`](https://github.com/ocaml/ocaml.org/blob/main/playground/dune-workspace)** file for the playground:
+   ```lisp
+   ; playground/dune-workspace
+   (lang dune 3.19)
+   ```
+
+3. **Build each project independently** by forcing the correct root:
+   ```bash
+   # Build the main OCaml.org site
+   dune build
+
+   # Build the playground (must use --root to force workspace detection)
+   cd playground
+   dune build --root .
+
+   # Or from anywhere in the repository
+   dune build --workspace playground/dune-workspace --root playground
+   ```
+
+4. **Lock dependencies separately** for each workspace:
+   ```bash
+   # Lock main OCaml.org dependencies
+   dune pkg lock
+
+   # Lock playground dependencies (from the playground directory)
+   cd playground
+   dune pkg lock --root .
+   ```
+
+### OCaml.org's Stable Dependency Management Setup
+
+OCaml.org uses a fixed commit hash of opam-repository to ensure a stable environment between contributors, maintainers, and the continuous integration service. This avoids running into dependency upgrade issues during feature development or when working on bugfixes.
+
+**Step-by-step workspace configuration for OCaml.org:**
+
+1. **Pin opam-repository to the same specific commit** in the `dune-workspace` files:
+   ```lisp
+   ; Both dune-workspace and playground/dune-workspace use:
+   (repository
+    (name pinned_opam_repository)
+    (url git+https://github.com/ocaml/opam-repository#584630e7a7e27e3cf56158696a3fe94623a0cf4f))
+
+   (lock_dir
+    (path dune.lock)
+    (repositories 
+     pinned_opam_repository 
+      ))
+   ```
+
+2. **Update the pinned repository commit** in both files during coordinated upgrades:
+   ```bash
+   # Update both dune-workspace files with the new commit hash
+
+   # Then regenerate both lock files
+   dune pkg lock
+   cd playground && dune pkg lock --root .
+   ```
+
+### Pinning Individual Dependencies
+
+The playground has additional complexity because it requires specific versions of packages that aren't available in the standard `opam-repository` or need patches for compatibility with Dune package management. These dependencies are handled through individual pins in the playground's `dune-workspace`.
+
+**Pin a dependency**:
+
+```
+...
+
+(pin
+(name merlin-js)
+ (url "git+https://github.com/voodoos/merlin-js#3a8c83e03d629228b8a8394ecafc04523b0ab93f")
+ (package
+  (name merlin-js)))
+
+...
+
+(lock_dir
+  (repositories pinned_opam_repository)
+  (pins esbuild code-mirror merlin-js js-top-worker ocamlbuild ocamlfind)
+   (version_preference newest))
+```
+
+### Compatibility of Dependencies Using Symlinks
+
+
+During the migration, we saw compatibility issues with upstream dependencies relating to the use of symlinks. For example, `merlin-js` uses symlinks in its example programs.
+
+Currently, Dune package management doesn't support symlinks, so we removed the offending examples to enable building `merlin-js` with Dune package management from [this `merlin-js` branch](https://github.com/Sudha247/merlin-js/tree/exp).
+
+#### The Opam-repository Overlays for OCamlBuild and OCamlFind
+
+A similar issue relating to symlinks exists with `ocamlbuild` and `ocamlfind`; however, both packages already have patched versions compatible with dune package management and available at https://github.com/ocaml-dune/opam-overlays.
+
+So, we added the overlays repository to the `dune-workspace` files and listed both repositories within the `lock_dir` Dune stanza:
+
+```
+...
+
+(repository (name pinned_overlay_repository) (url git+https://github.com/ocaml-dune/opam-overlays#2a9543286ff0e0656058fee5c0da7abc16b8717d))
+
+(lock_dir
+  (repositories pinned_opam_repository pinned_overlay_repository))
+```
+
+This way, the patched dependencies `ocamlbuild` and `ocamlfind` are picked up by Dune's solver when creating the `dune.lock` directory.
+
+### Updating GitHub Actions to Use Dune Developer Preview
+
+Using the GitHub Actions package available at https://github.com/ocaml-dune/setup-dune, we updated the workflows [`ci.yml`](https://github.com/ocaml/ocaml.org/blob/main/.github/workflows/ci.yml) and [`scrape.yml`](https://github.com/ocaml/ocaml.org/blob/main/.github/workflows/scrape.yml) to use Dune Package Management. The change turned out to be straightforward and we simplified the configuration in several ways: (1) instead of having explicit calls to the build tool, we invoke the existing Makefile, and (2) we do not need to specify the OCaml compiler version in the workflow anymore, since Dune manages the compiler version via `dune-project`.
+
+### Playground: Copying .cmi Files from the OCaml Standard Library
+
+For the playground to load the Standard Library in the browser via the generated .js bundle, we need the relevant `.cmi` files. Previously, we were using the `opam var ocaml:lib` command to discover the location from the compiler build artifacts, and we copied them to the `asset/` folder of the playground.
+
+To replicate this behavior with Dune Developer Preview, we invoke the OCaml compiler itself to tell us the path where we can find these `.cmi` files, by invoking `ocamlopt -config-var standard_library` through Dune Developer Preview from inside the [playground's dune file](https://github.com/ocaml/ocaml.org/blob/main/playground/dune).
+
+## Current Status and Next Steps
+
+The migration is progressing through three key phases:
+
+1. **Playground Integration**: Making the OCaml.org playground build successfully with Dune package management, which requires investigating and potentially fixing upstream dependency issues
+2. **Documentation Updates**: Updating contributor documentation to reflect the new build process
+3. **Cross-Platform Testing**: Ensuring the new workflow functions correctly on Windows and macOS
+
+Once these phases are complete, OCaml.org will officially adopt Dune package management as its standard build method.
+
+## Further Reading
+
+For more detailed information about the Dune features used in this migration, consult the official Dune documentation:
+
+- **[Dune Workspaces](https://dune.readthedocs.io/en/latest/reference/dune-workspace/index.html)** - Complete reference for `dune-workspace` file syntax and configuration
+- **[Lock Directories](https://dune.readthedocs.io/en/latest/reference/dune-workspace/lock_dir.html)** - How to configure and use lock directories for reproducible builds
+- **[Package Management](https://dune.readthedocs.io/en/stable/tutorials/dune-package-management/setup.html)** - Overview of Dune's package management features and workflows
+- **[Pinning Dependencies](https://dune.readthedocs.io/en/stable/tutorials/dune-package-management/pinning.html)** - Guide to pinning packages to specific versions or Git commits
+- **[Repository Configuration](https://dune.readthedocs.io/en/stable/tutorials/dune-package-management/repos.html)** - How to configure opam repositories in Dune workspaces
+
+## Conclusion
+
+Despite OCaml.org having a non-standard project setup and having to deal with custom dependencies for the playground, we found the migration to Dune package management to be mostly straightforward: OCaml.org itself didn't need us to touch any upstream dependencies, they just worked out of the box with Dune package management.
+
+The playground uses a few custom dependencies which needed to be updated to work with Dune package management. To get an understanding of how much of the OCaml ecosystem supports Dune package management, here's an interesting read: ["Opam Health Check: or How we Got to 90+% of Packages Building with Dune Package Management"](https://tarides.com/blog/2025-06-05-opam-health-check-or-how-we-got-to-90-of-packages-building-with-dune-package-management/). That post also contains a link to the health check service, where you can get an up-to-date view of which packages build successfully.

src/ocamlorg_frontend/pages/changelog_entry.eml

@@ -34,6 +34,9 @@ let render (entry : Data.Changelog.t) = match entry with
         </section>
 
         <section class="pb-6 lg:pb-8">
+          <div class="text-content dark:text-dark-content">
+            <%s if List.length release.authors > 0 then String.concat ", " release.authors else "" %>
+          </div>
           <time datetime="2023-07-14"
             class="block pb-5 mt-0 mb-6 font-sans text-sm text-content dark:text-dark-content border-b-2 border-solid border-separator_20 dark:border-dark-separator_30">
           <%s Utils.human_date release.date %>
@@ -86,6 +89,9 @@ let render (entry : Data.Changelog.t) = match entry with
         </section>
 
         <section class="pb-6 lg:pb-8">
+          <div class="text-content dark:text-dark-content">
+            <%s if List.length post.authors > 0 then String.concat ", " post.authors else "" %>
+          </div>
           <time datetime="2023-07-14"
             class="block pb-5 mt-0 mb-6 font-sans text-sm text-content dark:text-dark-content border-b-2 border-solid border-separator_20 dark:border-dark-separator_30">
           <%s Utils.human_date post.date %>