3.2 Init library

The init library ( $smlnj/internal/init.cmi) is a library that is used implicitly by all programs. This library is ``special'' in several ways and cannot be described using an ordinary CM description file. It is the bootstrap compiler's responsibility to properly prepare a stable version.

Ordinary programs (those managed by CM) do not have to worry about the special aspects of how to construct this library; they just have to be able to use its stable version.

There are several reasons why the library cannot be described as an ordinary CM library:

• The library exports the pervasive environment which normally is imported implicitly by every compilation unit. Within the init library, no pervasive environment is available yet.
• One binding in the above-mentioned pervasive environment is a binding for structure _Core. The symbol _Core is not a legal SML identifier, and the bootstrap compiler has to take special action to create a binding for it anyway.
• One of the compilation units in this library is merely a placeholder which at link time has to be replaced by the SML/NJ runtime system (which is written in C).