dan-hankins@cup.portal.com (Daniel B Hankins) (10/19/88)
I have just finished the semantics for an object-oriented concurrent
language for the Amiga. The final version will be in Modula-2, but I would
like to prototype in either Prolog or Lisp. If Lisp I would probably use
Scheme.
I would appreciate some comparative reviews of VTProlog, SBProlog,
Scheme and XLisp 2.0, focusing on performance, completeness, and
suitability for my application. If you feel it would be of any general
interest (I do) then post here, otherwise just send me email.
Thanks in advance.
Dan Hankinsbennete@romana.cs.orst.edu (Erik J. Bennett) (10/19/88)
Is Xlisp 2.0 pd? Where might one get it? -Erik
riley@batcomputer.tn.cornell.edu (Daniel S. Riley) (10/20/88)
In article <10175@cup.portal.com> dan-hankins@cup.portal.com (Daniel B Hankins) writes: > I would appreciate some comparative reviews of VTProlog, SBProlog, >Scheme and XLisp 2.0, focusing on performance, completeness, and >suitability for my application. If you feel it would be of any general >interest (I do) then post here, otherwise just send me email. The only version of VTProlog I saw didn't work. I looked at the code for a while, and decided that, even if it worked, it wouldn't be good for much. Like SIOD (Scheme In One Defun), it's basically a toy, not a serious tool. I haven't used SBProlog much, but it seems fairly complete. You do need more than a Meg to run it. Not being much of a Prolog programmer, I really can't say much about suitability for your application. XLisp 2.0 is also fairly complete, and mostly Common Lisp compatible (except for the scoping rules), but it's on the slow side. There's a lot excess overhead, especially in the I/O and math. I've been thinking about trying to speed it up some, but haven't got far yet. I like Ed Puckett's Scheme implementation a lot, but it doesn't have floating point math. If you need reals, then you'll have to look elsewhere. Otherwise, it's great. It doesn't have engines, or access to a timer interrupt; it does have continuations, dynamic-wind, and lots of other neat stuff. It's reasonably fast, but the memory allocation/garbage collection method is a bit of a hog (these two facts are correlated...). The cleanliness and conceptual power of the Scheme language make it a good match for your application. This would be my first choice for language prototyping, but that may just be because I haven't really learned Prolog yet... None of these have been particularly AmigaIzed: none of them offer access to the system libraries, or any special Amiga features. Source to Scheme is not available (as far as I know); source for all the others is. Hope this helps. -Dan Riley (dsr@lns61.tn.cornell.edu, dsr@crnlns.bitnet) -Wilson Lab, Cornell U.
rouaix@inria.UUCP (Francois Rouaix) (10/21/88)
In article <6635@batcomputer.tn.cornell.edu>, riley@batcomputer.tn.cornell.edu (Daniel S. Riley) writes: > In article <10175@cup.portal.com> dan-hankins@cup.portal.com (Daniel B Hankins) writes: > > I would appreciate some comparative reviews of VTProlog, SBProlog, > >Scheme and XLisp 2.0, focusing on performance, completeness, and > > None of these have been particularly AmigaIzed: none of them offer access > to the system libraries, or any special Amiga features. Source to Scheme Not exactly. I've AmigaIzed XLISP 2.0, with the following points: 1) ability to call ANY libraries that can be specified by a fd.file (that is arguments are passed in registers, not on the stack) 2) manipulation of C structures form XLISP, using the OO features. this uses a modified form of include files. All this needs only a tiny object module that provides a new function I called callasm, and also some functions to read/write directly memory at a given address, bye/word/long at a time. Besides this object module, EVERYTHING is written in XLISP. yes. Now, what's my problem: I have the permission of Carolyn Scheppner to distribute my modified include files needed for manipulating C structures. BUT, David Betz requires that people willing to distribute a non-standard version of XLISP ask him for permission. I send Mr Betz a disk with my implementation on it monthes ago, and I've had no answer. I think I will send to Fred Fish the only parts needed to AmigaIze XLISP2.0, together will the lisp code and include files as soon as possible. If one of you has the possibility to reach Mr Betz, I would appreciate his/her help -- *- Francois Rouaix // When the going gets tough, * *- rouaix@inria.inria.fr \X/ the guru goes meditating... * *- SYSOP of Sgt. Flam's Lonely Amigas Club. (33) (1) 39-55-84-59 (Videotext) * Disclaimer: Opinions expressed are my own, not those of my employer.
brant@alberta.UUCP (Brant Coghlan) (10/30/88)
In article <1121@inria.UUCP> rouaix@inria.UUCP (Francois Rouaix) writes: >In article <6635@batcomputer.tn.cornell.edu>, riley@batcomputer.tn.cornell.edu (Daniel S. Riley) writes: >> In article <10175@cup.portal.com> dan-hankins@cup.portal.com (Daniel B Hankins) writes: >> > I would appreciate some comparative reviews of VTProlog, SBProlog, >> >Scheme and XLisp 2.0, focusing on performance, completeness, and >> >> None of these have been particularly AmigaIzed: none of them offer access >> to the system libraries, or any special Amiga features. Source to Scheme The WISDOM implementation of Edinburgh Prolog is available for the Amiga, as well as a disk full of instructional programs. I was reading Sterling and Shapiro's "The Art of Prolog", and since I am sick with the flu I was flipping around more than I usually do. At the very end of the book is an add for WISDOM prolog. Has anyone used this prolog on their Amigas? How much memory is needed? How fast is it? Enough questions, my head is spinning already (that is probabily the flu again :-& Here is the text of the add: WISDOM PROLOG developed by Shmuel Safra at the Weizmann Institute of Science A new Prolog interpreter with these special features: * user definable shell and environment * 100 system predicates * 320K RAM used by user-data (PC only); up to 80Mb on UNIX machines * powerful debugger * screen management * exit to OS w/o leaving interpreter For more info contact Motti Goldberg at: max@wisdom (CSNET or BITNET) The MIT press is selling it at $95 US (code SAFWA) Amiga version They also have a companion disk of the programs from the book for the same price. This is quite commercial, but since we would all like to know more about this product I thought it was justified. I have nothing to do with any of the above including the content of this message. I am currently delirlous and not responsible for my ravings. -Brant -- Brant Coghlan (career student) (403) 487-3619 ...!alberta!brant Dept. of Comp. Science, 615 GSB, U of Alberta, Edmonton, Alberta, Canada
dan-hankins@cup.portal.com (Daniel B Hankins) (11/01/88)
About the availability of Wisdom Prolog: It ain't. I tried to get this, and was informed by the MIT Press that the author had decided not to produce an Amiga version. It's basically what I would consider false advertising. Dan Hankins