Date : Mon, 09 Jul 1984 12:53:31 EDT
From : David Towson (CSD) <towson@Amsaa.ARPA>
Subject: Re: XLISP on SIMTEL20? (REQUEST)
Jody - Here is a collection of messages pertaining to XLISP. Please let me
know if you successfully obtain a copy, and how.
Dave
towson@amsaa.arpa
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Date: Sun, 1 Jan 84 22:43:51 EST
From: Paul Broome <broome@brl-bmd>
To: BRINT <abc@brl-bmd>
cc: steve@brl-bmd, broome@brl-bmd, howard@brl-bmd, towson@amsaa
Subject: Re: XLISP
Here's a message on XLISP I had filed away long ago. It sounds very
interesting; it's theme is object oriented programming in LISP. Since
he referred to the book LISP by Winston and Horn in building it, it'll
look like MACLISP. Can you pick up a copy to run under UNIX also? -p
Date: 18 Mar 83 17:48:51-PST (Fri)
To: info-micro@brl.arpa
From: David Betz <decvax!betz (David Betz)@ucb-vax.arpa>
Subject: New XLISP release
Article-I.D.: decvax.441
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XLISP: An Experimental Object Oriented Language Page 1
XLISP is an experimental programming language combining some
of the features of LISP with an object oriented extension
capability. It was implemented to allow experimentation
with object oriented programming on small computers. There
are currently implementations running on the PDP-11 under
RSX, RT-11, and UNIX-V7, on the VAX-11 under VAX/VMS and
Berkeley VAX/UNIX and on the Z-80 running CP/M-80 (the CP/M
version was compiled using the AZTEC C compiler). It is
completely written in the programming language 'C' and is
believed to be easily extended with user written builtin
functions and classes. It is available in source form free
of charge and is in the public domain.
Many traditional LISP functions are built into XLISP. In
addition, XLISP defines the object classes 'Object',
'Class', and 'Keymap' as primitives. 'Object' is the only
class that has no superclass and hence is the root of the
class heirarchy. 'Class' is the class of which all classes
are instances (it is the only object that is an instance of
itself). 'Keymap' is a class whose instances are mappings
from input key sequences to messages.
This version of XLISP is much improved over the version that
I submitted to net.sources a while ago. The code has been
cleaned up to allow it to compile without errors under
Berkley UNIX (actually there is still one warning message
generated having something to do with a zero length
structure member, but it can be ignored). The functions
with names that parallel LISP function names actually work
the same as their counterparts in LISP (my source for
information on 'real' LISP was the book 'LISP', by Patrick
Henry Winston and Berthold Klaus Paul Horn, published by
Addison Wesley). The keymap functions have gone away in
favor of a 'Keymap' class that implements the same
functionality. The internal representation of objects has
changed such that objects now take about half the space that
they took before. I have introduced an 'Object' class that
is at the top of the class heirarchy and provides some
useful default messages like 'isnew' so that you don't have
to provide an 'isnew' message for a class whose instances
don't need initialization.
I hope to resubmit XLISP to net.sources sometime in the next
few weeks. If anyone is interested in a version of XLISP to
run on Z-80s under CP/M-80, contact me directly as there
were some changes to the sources necessary to get it to
compile under the AZTEC C compiler (by the way, I have had
very good luck with the AZTEC C compiler. It is sold by
MANX software systems in Shrewsbury, NJ)
XLISP is available from:
David Betz
114 Davenport Ave.
Manchester, NH 03103
XLISP: An Experimental Object Oriented Language Page 2
home: (603) 625-4691
work: (603) 881-2188
usenet: decvax!betz
XLISP: An Experimental Object Oriented Language Page 3
Classes and Messages:
Object
isnew default initialization message
print default print message
show default show message
class return the class of an object
sendsuper send an object's superclass a message
Class
new create a new instance
isnew initialize a new class
ivars define the instance variables
cvars define the class variables
answer define a method for a message
Keymap
isnew initialize a new keymap instance
key define a key mapping
process process input using the keymap
The LISP functions included with XLISP are:
List functions:
car cdr cons cond atom eq
list append null listp equal read
reverse length nth print princ set
setq eval quote defun
I/O functions:
fopen fclose getc putc fgets fputs
String functions:
strcat strlen substr ascii chr atoi
itoa
Arithmetic functions:
+ - * / % &
| ~ min max abs
Boolean functions:
&& || !
Relational functions:
< <= == != >= >
Control functions:
if while foreach exit
Utility functions:
load mem gc alloc expand
Received: From Brl-Bmd.ARPA by AMSAA via smtp; 5 Jan 84 12:35 EST
Date: Thu, 5 Jan 84 12:31:19 EST
From: BRINT <abc@brl-bmd>
To: towson@amsaa
Subject: [betz: Re: XLISP]
Dave,
What is SIG/M? Can we easily get software from them?
Brint
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Date: Thu, 5 Jan 84 10:33:22 est
From: decvax!betz@Berkeley (David Betz)
Message-Id: <8401051533.AA16492@decvax.UUCP>
To: decvax!betz@Berkeley, abc@brl-bmd.ARPA
Subject: Re: XLISP
You can now order XLISP from SIG/M. I'm not sure what the volume number is
for it. You can also get it from DECUS. It comes in CP/M format from SIG/M
and RT-11 format from DECUS. I have recompiled the same source code for
VMS, UNIX V7 and Berkeley UNIX as well as CP/M-80. You also might be interested
to know that I have a new LISP interpreter called OBLISP. It fixes some of the
problems that XLISP had as well as being somewhat more compatible with 'real'
LISP. It still supports object oriented programming. It also has a builtin
function called 'prove' that is a simple prolog style theorm prover. Actually
it is just a C implementation of a program called PIL that was distributed
over the NET a while ago. I will be submitting this new version of LISP to
Dr. Dobbs Journal soon. I will also be sending it to SIG/M. I am sorry to
say that I am no longer accepting floppy disks sent directly to me. I had
too much trouble with people sending the wrong kind of floppies or not enough
return postage, etc. I was thinking of making the software available for a
small fee (like $25) with the understanding that once you ordered a copy, you
could make as many copies as you wanted and give them to your friends. The
software really is in the public domain. I just don't know of a good way of
distributing it.
David Betz
P.S. What are you planning on doing with XLISP/OBLISP?
----- End of forwarded messages
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Date: Tue, 27 Dec 83 19:49:36 EST
From: BRINT <abc@brl-bmd>
To: steve@brl-bmd, broome@brl-bmd, howard@brl-bmd
cc: towson@amsaa
Subject: XLISP
Do any of you know anything about XLISP (se following)? Is
this public domain? Is it anything like Pure Lisp, Franx, or
MAC?
I suppose the floppy is to be an 8" variety.
Brint
?
Date: 28 Apr 83 10:52:46-PDT (Thu)
To: info-micro@brl.arpa
From: David Betz <decvax!betz (David Betz)@ucb-vax.arpa>
Subject: New distribution policy for XLISP
Article-I.D.: decvax.524
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I have received a large number of requests from people who have not received
parts of the last XLISP distribution. For a while I was honoring requests
to send individuals the files that they were missing. Then, when that became
unreasonable due to the number of requests, I reposted several of the
original files. Even then I got requests from people who hadn't gotten either
the original version or the redistributed version. Because of all of this I
have decided that net.sources isn't a reliable way of distributing a program
as large as XLISP. Rather than replying to each of the people who sent me
mail, I am sending this news article to explain my next plan for distributing
XLISP. Would anyone who wants a copy of XLISP please send me a stamped,
self addressed SSSD floppy at the following address:
David Betz
Digital Equipment Corporation
110 Spit Brook Rd.
Nashua, NH 03062
Please specify whether you want the disk in CP/M format, RT-11 format,
VMS format, or UNIX (tar) format.
I'm sorry about this being a less than convienient form of distribution,
but I don't think that its fair to the rest of the users of the network
to continue sending the large XLISP distribution files over and over
again just so that the few people who didn't receive them correctly the
first time can have another chance.
David Betz
decvax!betz
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Date: Friday, 3 Feb 1984 11:02-PST
To: info-micro@brl
Subject: xlisp
Reply-to: kevinw@su-dsn
From: kevinw@su-dsn
Sender: kevinw%isl@BRL.ARPA
has anyone had any success with xlisp from simtel-20? i downloaded
it and the checksums verified but i can't get it to run under unix
after recompiling and the canned version has bombed two different
machines running cpm (z80 and 8085). it sounds like a great program
but if it doesn't work...
thanks for any assistance,
-- Kevin
kevinw@su-dsn