Isaac_K_Rabinovitch@cup.portal.com (11/27/87)
I've seen a bunch of postings on Icon lately. Some of it has been about
where to get it. (What's a FISH disk? Never mind, I don't want to know.)
Although Icon is public domain, I think the best place to get it is from
the Icon project. Although it might seem silly to pay $15 for a program
you can download from your local BBS for free, it's worth something to
have the very latest version (there were drastic changes between Ver. 5
and 6) and to get the Icon newsletter. You also can get all kinds of
good documentations from them, including the 8 Queens book and Grizwold
papers on the language's history and purpose.
I've attached the Icon Project Flyer, which has info and pricing. They
probably have additional offerings since this blurb was published, a year
ago.
-----Cut here---Cut here----Cut here---Cut here-----Cut here---Cut here----Cut
The Icon Programming Language
Language Features: Icon is a high-level, general-purpose program-
ming language that is designed for nonnumerical applications. It
supports many data types, including variable-length strings,
lists with several access methods, sets, and tables with associa-
tive lookup. Storage management is automatic. Icon has a goal-
directed evaluation mechanism that allows concise solutions of
many programming tasks to be formulated easily. Its high-level
string scanning facility is comparable to pattern matching in
SNOBOL4, but Icon allows all language operations to be used in
the analysis and synthesis of strings.
Applications: Icon has been used for a wide variety of tasks,
including text analysis and generation, document formatting, sym-
bolic mathematics, artificial intelligence, molecular genetics,
and rapid prototyping.
Implementations: Icon has been implemented on a wide variety of
computers running UNIX* ranging from large mainframes to personal
computers. It also has been implemented for personal computers
running MS-DOS and for VAX computers running VMS. All of these
implementations are of the latest version, Version 6. There are,
as yet, no implementations of Icon the Macintosh, the Amiga, or
the Atari ST, although work on these is in progress.
Availability: The Icon Project at The University of Arizona dis-
tributes Icon. The implementation, including the source code, is
in the public domain; there are no licensing requirements or res-
trictions on its use. The only charges are those necessary to
cover the costs of media, documentation, handling, and shipping.
Documentation: A brief description of Icon is included with all
distribution packages. A complete description is contained in
the book The Icon Programming Language, 313 pages, Griswold and
Griswold, Prentice-Hall, 1983, ISBN 0-13-449777-5. The list price
of this book currently is $25.95. It is stocked by many college
bookstores or can be ordered through any bookstore that handles
special orders or by telephone directly from Prentice-Hall: (201)
767-9520. It also is available from the Icon Project as part of
a documentation package. See the attached order form. There have
been some extensions to Icon since the book mentioned above was
published. These are described in a report that is included with
__________________________
*UNIX is a trademark of AT&T Bell Laboratories.
- 1 - November 26, 1986
all distribution packages.
Distribution: Icon for personal computers is distributed on 2S/DD
5-1/4'' diskettes. Other implementations are distributed on mag-
netic tape and cartridges. The prices listed include media. Some
other formats are available as special orders; if you need a for-
mat that is not listed below, ask us.
Delivery Charges: The charges listed below include parcel-post
delivery in the United States, Canada, and Mexico. Shipment to
other countries is made by air mail only, for which there are
additional charges as follows: $5 per diskette package, $10 per
tape or cartridge package, and $10 per documentation package.
Commercial express delivery will be provided if authorization and
an account number to charge is provided with the order.
Payment: Payment may be made by check or money order, but credit
card orders cannot be accepted. Remittance must be in U.S. dol-
lars, payable to The University of Arizona. There is a $10 ser-
vice charge for a check drawn on a bank that does not have a
branch in the United States. Payment should accompany the order.
For organizations that cannot provide pre-payment, purchase ord-
ers will be accepted, but there is a $5 charge for processing
such orders.
The Icon Newsletter: All persons who order Icon will receive the
next three issues of the Icon Newsletter, free of charge. This
Newsletter is published aperiodically, three or four times a
year. It contains information about new implementations, work in
progress, items of general interest from mail to the Icon Pro-
ject, and a programming corner that covers various aspects
related to the Icon language and its use.
The UNIX Package: The UNIX package listed below includes source
code, test programs, a library of Icon programs, and documenta-
tion in both printed and machine-readable form (but not the Icon
book). The system can be configured to run on most computers
with UNIX-based operating systems, including the VAX, Sun Works-
tation, IBM RT PC, AT&T 3B, and Pyramid. Since object and exe-
cutable files depend on the target computer, they are not
included on the tape.
The VMS Package: The VMS package contains source code, test pro-
grams, a library of Icon programs, and documentation in both
printed and machine-readable form. Object and executable files
are included. It requires VMS Release 4.2 or higher.
Note: The UNIX and VMS packages contain different system-specific
configurations and support material. Neither will run on the
other system.
The MS-DOS Packages: The MS-DOS implementation of Icon runs on
computers with 8086/88/186/286-family processors. IBM hardware
compatibility is not necessary. MS- or PC-DOS Version 2.0 or
higher is required. There are both small- and large-memory-model
implementations. The small-memory model uses 192 kilobytes of
memory. The large-memory model requires at least 256 kilobytes,
but runs better with more. The small-memory model is faster and
- 2 - November 26, 1986
more compact than the large-memory model, but it cannot handle
programs that need large amounts of storage. It is inadvisable
to run both the small- and large-memory-model implementations on
the same computer because of file naming conflicts.
The source code for MS-DOS is designed to compile under the
latest version of the Lattice C compiler. It may be possible to
use other C compilers, but this has not been done yet and cer-
tainly will require some work: caveat emptor. Test programs are
included. The distribution is in arc format and hence is suitable
only for use on MS-DOS systems.
The Icon program library for MS-DOS is the same for the small-
and large- memory models and is distributed on a separate
diskette.
The PC/IX Packages: The PC/IX implementation of Icon is a small-
memory-model one that has only 64 kilobytes for data. Source code
and the Icon program library are distributed separately. The
source code diskettes contain configuration information and test
suites for other UNIX installations, such as the IBM RT PC. All
PC/IX diskettes are written in dump/restore format, which is the
same format as backup/restore on the RT PC under AIX.
The XENIX Packages: The XENIX implementation of Icon is for SCO
XENIX V. There are both small- and large-memory model implemen-
tations. It is inadvisable to run both the small- and large-
memory-model implementations on the same computer because of file
naming conflicts. The Icon program library is distributed
separately. Source code for XENIX is not yet available. All
XENIX diskettes are written in tar format.
The Porting Package: This package is intended for porting Icon to
operating systems and computers on which it has not already been
implemented. Possibilities include the Amiga, the Atari 1024ST,
and the Macintosh. This version of Icon does not require a
hierarchical file system. In addition to the source code, there
are porting instructions and suites of test programs. The distri-
bution is in MS-DOS ASCII format for ease of file transfer. Indi-
vidual files are packaged in larger files to reduce the effort of
file transfer and a C program for unpacking them is included.
Note: Only 5-1/4'' diskettes are available. Persons requiring 3-
1/2'' diskettes will need to arrange for conversion.
The Documentation Package: This package contains a copy of the
Icon book mentioned above, a description of recent additions to
the language, a compilation of material from the programming
corners of previous Icon Newsletters, and other material related
to programming in Icon.
For more information, contact
- 3 - November 26, 1986
Icon Project
Department of Computer Science
The University of Arizona
Tucson, AZ 85721
U.S.A.
(602) 621-6613
icon-project.arizona@edu (Internet)
... {allegra, cmcl2, ihnp4, noao}!arizona!icon-project (uucp)
- 4 - November 26, 1986
Order Form
_________________________________________________________________
Ship to: Return this form with payment to:
Name ______________________________ Icon Project
Address ______________________________ Dept. of Computer Science
______________________________ The University of Arizona
______________________________ Tucson, AZ 85721
Telephone ______________________________
UNIX Icon (9-track magnetic tape) $25 ________
options: [] tar [] cpio [] 1600 bpi [] 6250 bpi
UNIX Icon (3M DC 300 XL/P cartridge) $40 ________
options: [] tar [] cpio
VAX/VMS Icon (9-track magnetic tape) $25 ________
options: [] 1600 bpi [] 6250 bpi
MS-DOS Icon, small-memory model (diskette) $15 ________
MS-DOS Icon, large-memory model (diskette) $15 ________
MS-DOS Icon, source code (2 diskettes) $25 ________
MS-DOS Icon Program Library (diskette) $15 ________
PC/IX Icon (diskette) $15 ________
PC/IX Icon source code (4 diskettes) $35 ________
PC/IX Icon Program Library (diskette) $15 ________
XENIX Icon, small-memory model (diskette) $15 ________
XENIX Icon, large-memory model (diskette) $15 ________
XENIX Icon Program Library (diskette) $15 ________
Icon Porting System (4 diskettes) $35 ________
Documentation Package $29 ________
Other charges (see above) ________
Total ________
- 5 - November 26, 1986
malibo@arizona.edu (Rob McConeghy) (12/01/87)
In article <1636@cup.portal.com>, Isaac_K_Rabinovitch@cup.portal.com writes: > I've seen a bunch of postings on Icon lately. Some of it has been about > where to get it. ... They > probably have additional offerings since this blurb was published, a year > ago. [stuff] > Implementations: Icon has been implemented on a wide variety of > computers [stuff] > as yet, no implementations of Icon for the Macintosh, the Amiga, or ^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^^ > the Atari ST, although work on these is in progress. ^^^^^^^^^^^^^ Implementations for the Amiga, the Mac, and the Atari ST have been completed and are currently available from the Icon Project at the Dept of Computer Science at the University of Arizona.