Question

I have this record type:

type syllable = {onset: consonant list; nucleus: vowel list; coda: consonant list};;

What if I want to instantiate a syllable where only the nucleus is defined? Can I give it a default value? Does it default to [] or something like that?

Answer 1

I think it’s a better idea to use “optional” fields.

type syllable = {onset: consonant list option; nucleus: vowel list option; coda: consonant list option};;

That way, you can define what you need.

{onset = Some [consonant, consonant, ...],
 nucleus = None,
 coda = Some [consonant, consonant, consonant, ...]}

I think that’s the syntax.