POLY(1)

✨ POLY(1) ✨ — General Commands Manual, bestie edition 🎀

okay so like, hi, you found the page for poly, aka the Poly/ML Standard ML implementation. This is the POLY(1) page from the General Commands Manual and we're gonna get you fully caught up. no cap. 💖

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🌸 NAME 🌸

poly — the Poly/ML Standard ML implementation 💅

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🦋 SYNOPSIS 🦋

poly

that's it. that's the whole vibe. one word and you're in. 😭✨

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💜 DESCRIPTION 💜

poly starts the Poly/ML shell. periodt.

Poly/ML is an implementation of Standard ML written by David Matthews, originally at the University of Cambridge, and it's maintained as a project supported by contributors. so like, a whole community keeping this thing iconic. 🫶👑

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🌈 OPTIONS 🌈

every single one, bestie, we're not skipping anything:

• -v — Print the version of Poly/ML and then exit. short and sweet, it's giving "just the facts". 💀
• --help — Print a list of the arguments and exit. your lil cheat sheet, go off. 📋✨
• -q — Suppress the start-up message. for when you want silence and main character energy only. 🤫
• -i — Interactive mode. Output a prompt for each input line. This is the default if input is from a terminal. so if you're typing at it, you already get this for free, no cap. ⌨️💖
• --use FILE — Reads input from FILE as though executing the ML command use "FILE"; before the ML shell starts. so like, it's doing the use thing for you. 💅
• --eval STRING — Compiles and executes STRING as ML before the ML shell starts. run it before you even sit down. 🔥
• --error-exit — Normally if the ML code raises an unhandled exception control returns to the ML shell. With this option the shell exits on an unhandled exception. so: crash out loud instead of politely coming back. dramatic and valid. 😭💀
• --with-markup — Include extra mark-up information when printing. This is only suitable when Poly/ML is run under an environment that is able to decode the additional information. > if your environment can't decode it, this is not the move, bestie. 🚫
• --ideprotocol — Run the IDE communications protocol rather than the normal read-eval-print loop. Only suitable for running within a development environment. it's a backstage-pass situation, not for casual use. 🎭
• --script — The input is a shell script. The first line is skipped if it begins with #!. shebang found → shebang ignored, we move. 🐍✨
• -H size — Sets the initial heap size. The size may be written as a number optionally followed by K, M or G representing kilobytes, megabytes or gigabytes. If none of these is given the number is taken as megabytes. no suffix = megabytes, that's the rule. 📏
• --minheap size — Set the minimum heap size. The heap will not shrink below this value. a floor. it stays put. 🧱
• --maxheap size — Set the maximum heap size. The heap will not grow above this value. a ceiling. no growing past it, fr fr. 🚧
• --gcpercent percent — Set the target percentage of time that the code should spend in the garbage collector. The heap sizer will attempt to set the heap size to achieve this target consistent with the minimum and maximum heap sizes given by the arguments and also consistent with keeping paging under control. so the heap sizer is out here doing math to hit your target while respecting your min/max AND not letting paging go rogue. multitasking queen. 👑📊
• --gcthreads threads — Sets the number of threads used in the parallel garbage collector. Setting this to 1 forces the garbage collector to be single-threaded. The value 0, the default, is taken to be the number of processors (cores) available. so 0 = "just use all my cores, ty". ✨🧵
• --debug options — Set various debugging options for the run-time system. for the tinkerers. 🔧

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🍓 SEE ALSO 🍓

• http://www.polyml.org — The Poly/ML web site. go visit, it's the mothership. 🌐💖

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and that's the whole page, bestie!! you understood it, you slayed it, you're literally a Poly/ML girlie now. 🧚💫

this was POLY(1) from Poly/ML Version 5.9.2 2025 — so yeah, version 5.9.2, dated 2025, and it lives in the General Commands Manual. ily, go compile something iconic. 💅💖🎀