RE: [Axiom-developer] Aldor and Lisp

[Weiss, Juergen]

Most lisp compilers are written in lisp: 
the famous Maclisp compiler, for example
and the CMU Common Lisp Compiler Python. 

In my opinion, a drawback of the current 
implementation of AXIOM in BOOT/LISP is,
that BOOT/LISP does not easily allow the use of
typed variables (defstruct). In more modern
lisp programming lists are out, defstruct
is in (if we forget OO altogether) ;-). So
the implementation technique of the AXIOM 
interpreter/compiler lacks a feature (typed data),
for which AXIOM is famous as a computer algebra
system. This is rather unfortunate.

So you could extend BOOT with defstruct,
drop BOOT and convert everything to lisp,
define the data with defstruct in lisp
and use the accessor functions from BOOT.

Regards

Juergen Weiss

Juergen Weiss     | Universitaet Mainz, Zentrum fuer Datenverarbeitung,
address@hidden| 55099 Mainz, Tel: +49(6131)39-26361, FAX:
+49(6131)39-26407
 

> -----Original Message-----
> From: Bill Page [mailto:address@hidden 
> Sent: Friday, October 21, 2005 7:37 PM
> To: address@hidden
> Cc: Weiss, Juergen
> Subject: RE: [Axiom-developer] Aldor and Lisp
> 
> On October 21, 2005 5:43 AM Juergen Weiss wrote:
> > ...
> > [about Aldor] 
> > I think, there had been an attempt for a reimplementation
> > in Lisp/Boot before. 
> > 
> > Why they decided to reimplement in C and not in Lisp
> > I do not know. 
> >
> 
> I wouldn't want to start a "language war" or anything, but
> seriously does anyone know of any production (as opposed
> to experimental or prototype) compiler written in lisp?
> (besides lisp itself, of course)
> 
> I recall a posting by Paul Dietz suggesting that gcc should
> be re-written in lisp. (perhaps he was not entirely serious ;)
> 
> Regards,
> Bill Page.
> 
>