Re: [FYI] The Lisp Machine is back

[Grant Rettke]

Wonderful!
Grant Rettke
gcr@wisdomandwonder.com | http://www.wisdomandwonder.com/
“Wisdom begins in wonder.” --Socrates
((λ (x) (x x)) (λ (x) (x x)))
“Life has become immeasurably better since I have been forced to stop
taking it seriously.” --Thompson


On Fri, Sep 19, 2014 at 12:20 PM, Thorsten Jolitz <tjolitz@gmail.com> wrote:
>
> Hi List,
>
> Emacs success as an editor or rather an OS is sometimes explained by
> its (at least superficial) similaritiy to a LispMachine [fn:1]:
>
> ,----
> | Emacs as a LispMachine
> |
> | Some people have started to refer to Emacs as a LispMachine. It is
> | not strictly a LispMachine because, clearly, it is a software
> | program and not a physical computer, but as that line starts to blur
> | it seems like a useful epithet for Emacs because these days Emacs
> | look more and more like an operating system.
> `----
>
> Today a modern 64bit LispMachine, based on one of the most exciting Lisp
> dialects around, has been announced [fn:2]:
>
> ,----
> | PilMCU is an implementation of 64-bit PicoLisp directly in hardware. A
> | truly minimalistic system. PicoLisp is both the machine language and the
> | operating system:
> |
> |    * Memory management is trivial, just the Lisp heap and the stack
> |    * The built-in database is extended to hold a "file system"
> |    * One SSD per database file for mass storage
> |    * "Processes" run as tasks and coroutines
> |    * Events (timing and interrupts) via a 'wait' instruction
> |    * Complex I/O protocols are delegated to peripheral chips
> |
> | The final hardware can be very lightweight. Low transistor count and
> | power consumption. No overhead for an OS. It is conceivable for a later
> | stage to put many interconnected CPUs on a single chip.
> |
> | At present, we have it running in the Verilog simulator, and in an
> | emulator (adaption of the PicoLisp 'emu' architecture). [...]
> |
> | We imagine something in the line of an "Embedded Lisp Machine" or a
> | "Lisp Machine Kit". Perhaps for home brewing, educational institutions
> | and/or robotics research?
> `----
>
> I thought this might be interesting for Emacs hackers and user too.
>
> * Footnotes
>
> [fn:1] http://www.emacswiki.org/emacs/LispMachine
>
> [fn:2] http://www.mail-archive.com/picolisp@software-lab.de/msg04823.html
>
>
> --
> cheers,
> Thorsten
>
>