[net.ai] Interlisp/Zetalisp Compatibility

kushnier%NADC@sri-unix.UUCP (08/07/84)

Can someone tell a novice the difference between Interlisp and Zetalisp..In pl
plain English?


                               Thanks
                               Ron Kushnier
                               kushnier@NADC.arpa

RpK%MIT-OZ@MIT-MC.ARPA (08/10/84)

From:  Robert P. Krajewski <RpK%MIT-OZ@MIT-MC.ARPA>

Since I have only a limited knowledge of Interlisp, this will be sketchy at
best.

(1) All arguments to functions in Interlisp are optional.  In ZetaLisp (Common
Lisp), optional arguments are specified in the function definition with special
keywords.

(2) The NTH function is different.  (Rather miscellaneous, eh ?)

(3) Interlisp does not have a package system.  (In this respect, it is like
MacLisp and Franz Lisp.)  The modern MacLisp descendants (ZetaLisp and NIL, and
the Common Lisp dialects) contain such a system, which is basically a way of
managing the namespace of symbols with ``packages,'' the equivalent of old
obarrays.  To give a quick example, suppose one has a symbol in the CELLOPHANE
package.  From within that package, one can refer to a symbol called WRAP in
that package by WRAP, and refer to outside as CELLOPHANE:WRAP.  It can get much
more hairy than this (what about global symbols like CONS ?), but that's the
general idea.

(4) Both Interlisp (in the workstatation implementations) and Zetalisp have
facilities for processes and windows, but they are obviously handled in
different ways.  The same is true for hash tables and macros.

(5) Zetalisp does not have a DWIM facility; the error handler is powerful
enough to enable the user to recover intelligently from errors while being
informed of the condition.  In keeping with the MacLisp tradition, the basic
unit for organising source code is the file, and a display editor that is
highly integrated with the Lisp environment is used.  In contrast, structure
editors are used in Interlisp to edit code.

I hope somebody more familiar with Interlisp can answer your question.  In
terms of compatibility, there doesn't seem to be much of it between the two
dialects..

goodhart@noscvax.UUCP (Curtis L. Goodhart) (08/15/84)

iSymbolics (phone- (213) 473-6583) publishes "Interlisp Compatibility Package
User's Guide" which discusses compatibility issues between Interlisp and 
Zetalisp.