mark@vuwcomp.UUCP (Mark Davies) (10/28/86)
As part of a distributed systems project that we are currently developing,
we require a Lisp for the Macintosh. Are there any good systems readily
available?
Requirements
o Reasonably `powerful' lisp implementation
o Access to the Macintosh toolbox
o Access to routines written in other languages
e.g. network routines written in C
o Ability to `dump' snapshots of an environment.
i.e. generate new load bands
We have a copy of MacScheme 1.01. Are the more recent versions any better?
I have heard mention of ExperLISP, has anyone had experience with this
product? Is it any good?
I also noticed in a recent Byte ExperCommonLISP -- Is this a separate
product or a development of the above? Is it a full CommonLisp
implementation?
What else is available?
Repies by Email please. I will summarise to the net if there is
interest.
Thanks
Mark
--
UUCP: ...!{alberta,ubc-vision}!calgary!vuwcomp!mark
ACSnet: mark@vuwcomp.nzverber@osu-eddie.UUCP (Mark Verber) (10/31/86)
There are four 'real' Lisp compilers for the Macintosh that will
let you do the critical things you are interested in:
#1. MacScheme with Toolsmith. Toolsmith gives full access to
the toolbox in a very nice way. Toolsmith is currently in
beta test but is very nice. The only complaint I have is
that it is slow (but then again I am use to Sun-3s).
#2. ExperLisp. I don't recommend this compiler. The compiler is
buggy. They advertise that it is CommonLisp compatible but
it doesn't support closures, use lexical scoping or have
multiple name spaces. I guess you can call it CommonLisp
since the function names are the same. I have talked to a
number of Lisp implimentors about the product, and all have
felt that the ExperLisp compiler just wasn't that hot.
#3. OakLisp. This is an experimental Object Scheme which runs
on Symbolics, Macintoshes and Suns. I believe only the
Symbolics version is running (although I am guessing).
It might be released, then again, it might not. You can
see a description of it in the Proceedings from OOPSLA86.
OakLisp is a high preformance dialect of Scheme with
objects as first class entities. It is modelled after
T (from Yale) and should be very high preformance, and give
access to the toolbox.
#4. PSL (Portable Standard Lisp). This also is not done yet.
Rummor has it that Kessler is porting the entire SysLisp
compiler to the Macintosh. SysLisp is a dialect of PSL
which is designed to product high-preformance software,
specificely other compilers and tools. PSL is very much
like MacLisp for the DECsystem-20 and generates very fast
code.
Cheers,
Mark A. Verber verber@ohio-state.arpa (internet)
The Ohio State University verber@ohio-state.csnet (csnet)
+1 (614) 422-0915 cbosgd!osu-eddie!verber (uucpnet)