Reading in floats from strings???

Hi everyone,

I am new to this list, so I thought I would introduce myself.  Also, I have
a question about how to read in data of the form "11.3  12.9".  Obviously a
string, but I need to extract the floats contained in the string.  I know
how to do that in Java and also in Python, but for me Ocaml is still pretty
much a foreign language.  I appreciate any guidance you can offer.

Anyhow, I've got a master's in math from a small state university in
Chicago, Illinois.  I'm currently working on a second master's in CS at the
same university.  My work experience is mostly in teaching, although I've
also done some retail management.  I used to be a high school math teacher
( mostly Catholic high schools, but also have some experience in the public
school system ) and currently I teach part-time at Oakton Community College
( near Chicago ).  I'm interested in leaving education within the next
couple of years to find a new career in the software industry.  My age
could be a factor that works to my disadvantage, since most of the people
that I personally know in various startup companies are quite young.  (
I've been to some Python and Ruby meetups in the Chicago area, and I get
the distinct impression that the vast majority of attendees are under the
age of 35. )

Ocaml is appealing to me for a couple of reasons.  Well first off, how can
I resist a book that has a picture of a lovable camel on its front cover!!!
  ;-)   But on a more serious note, I like Ocaml because it really forces
the programmer to get over his fear or hatred of recursion.  I think
recursion is sort of optional in many other languages, and in fact some
programmers really hate it because it does require a different way of
thinking about problems.  But in Ocaml recursion is not optional.  So for
me it's a really good exercise in thinking recursively about various
problems.  Although sometimes I think Ocaml goes a little too far with its
emphasis on recursion.  I mean.... there are times when a nice little for
loop or while loop would do the job with far greater simplicity!

From the reading I have done on the web it appears that Ocaml is a big hit
with Jane Street, a very large financial trading company with offices in
NYC, London and Hong Kong.  Outside of Jane Street, where is Ocaml used?

Take care and thanks for reading my intro message.

Best,

Douglas Lewit

P.S.  Is there any connection between Ocaml and Wolfram Mathematica?  Both
begin and end comments with (* and *), respectively, and both emphasize the
functional approach to programming.  I'm a big fan of Mathematica, and
often incorporate it into math classes that I teach.  I'm just wondering if
there's a connection between the two software projects.  Thanks.