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.