[comp.sys.hp] Lucid Common Lisp foreign function interface question

chekmate@athena.mit.edu (Adam Kao) (11/30/89)

I'm trying to use the foreign function interface.
When I try to load the file "interface.lisp":

(load "/skipjack/adamk/lisp/interface.lisp")
;;; Loading source file "/skipjack/adamk/lisp/interface.lisp"
>>Error: DEF-FOREIGN-FUNCTION has no global function definition

SYMBOL-FUNCTION:
   Required arg 0 (S): DEF-FOREIGN-FUNCTION

:A    Abort to Lisp Top Level
:C    Try evaluating #'DEF-FOREIGN-FUNCTION again
->

Now, according to the manual I have, I need to load the "external"
module before calling foreign functions.  So, assuming that was my
problem, I tried loading the "external" module:

> (require "external")
>>Error: Module "external" has been REQUIRE'd, but isn't present,
    and isn't found as a file on the default directory.

REQUIRE:
   Required arg 0 (MODULE-NAME): "external"
   Optional arg 1 (PATHNAME): NIL

:A    Abort to Lisp Top Level
:C    Just continue anyway.
->

So, I assumed I needed the "external" module but it had somehow been
destroyed.  Is this true?  If so, how can I get it?  If not, what I'm
doing wrong?

Thank you very much,

Adam Kao

chan@hpfcmgw.HP.COM (Chan Benson) (12/05/89)

]> (require "external")
]>>Error: Module "external" has been REQUIRE'd, but isn't present,
]    and isn't found as a file on the default directory.

I don't know much about Lucid CL, but I can make an educated guess.
It sounds like there is a global somewhere that specifies what directories
to search for "required" modules, and that 'external' is not in that
path. My copies of the manuals are really old and I can't find what
that variable might be.

Note also that there is an optional arg to 'require' that says what
to load to satisfy the requirement.

			-- Chan