From: k p c
Subject: fast-loading lisp sought to replace awk and zsh
Date: 
Message-ID: <1994May31.191914.11885@ptolemy-ethernet.arc.nasa.gov>
I am looking for a fast-loading lisp to replace all of my awk
programming and much of my zsh programming under unix.

Such a lisp must:

	o have a regular expression parser and string functions
	o be able to write to and read from standard i/o
	o be able to call unix shell scripts or programs

	o have reasonable floating point support
	o load quickly and run fast interpreted
	o have few constraints on its use or redistribution

Ideally (optionally yet very desirably) it would also:

	o have defmacro, hash tables, loop, and streams
	o compile or dump into a fast-loading binary
	o be very freely redistributable and very portable

	o be able to parse and eval the command line used to call it
	o run as fast as gawk interpreted or faster compiled
	o have high level pipes and sockets (e.g. Common Lisp streams,
	  elisp processes, or shell "|"), bignums, ratios, processes,
	  setf, and filename parsing.

Possible alternative to the above:

	o If there's a good Common Lisp like CLISP or AKCL that can
	  act as a memory-resident server and have a quick client
	  program send lisp forms to it in an easy-to-use and robust
	  way, that would be a possible alternative to a small lisp.

I speak Common Lisp and elisp (either of which would be fine if it
weren't for the fast-loading restriction), but not Scheme.  I've seen
elk and it might do, but I'd like more cl/el-ishness if possible.
Libraries are fine.  I don't need obscure features.  Can WCL do what I
need?  cscheme?  Any other suggestions?

Ideas?  Encouragement?  Brainstorms?  ftp sites?

--
···@ptolemy.arc.nasa.gov.  AI, multidisciplinary neuroethology, info filtering.
On a superhighway, existing roads are destroyed, it is easy to monitor traffic,
you can't make your on-ramp, politics controls development; and they arrest you
if you go too fast, travel in your own direction, or use unapproved technology.

From: Mitchell Wand
Subject: Re: fast-loading lisp sought to replace awk and zsh
Date: 
Message-ID: <WAND.94May31203045@delphi.ccs.neu.edu>
You should look into Olin Shiver's Scheme shell (scsh).  Sorry I don't have an
address for Olin close at hand, try fingering him at CMU.  Can someone else
fill in more details?

--Mitch 

Mitchell Wand				      Internet: ····@ccs.neu.edu
College of Computer Science, Northeastern University
360 Huntington Avenue #161CN, Boston, MA 02115     Phone: (617) 373 2072
World Wide Web: http://www.ccs.neu.edu/home/wand   Fax:   (617) 373 5121
From: Shriram Krishnamurthi
Subject: Re: fast-loading lisp sought to replace awk and zsh
Date: 
Message-ID: <shriram.770500425@cs.rice.edu>
····@delphi.ccs.neu.edu (Mitchell Wand) writes:

> You should look into Olin Shiver's Scheme shell (scsh).  Sorry I
> don't have an address for Olin close at hand, try fingering him at
> CMU.  Can someone else fill in more details?

You might want to try ·······@lewis.lcs.mit.edu.

I have a (possibly not latest) version of the Scheme shell
documentation.  It dates to October 1992.  However, since it's
explicitly marked as a draft and as "not for circulation or
quotation", I won't post it here.  It's over 2000 lines anyway, which
might make it a bother for people that get this as a mailing list.
From: Juliusz Chroboczek
Subject: Re: fast-loading lisp sought to replace awk and zsh
Date: 
Message-ID: <2shg5r$ajk@nef.ens.fr>
In article <······················@ptolemy-ethernet.arc.nasa.gov>,
k p c <···@ptolemy.arc.nasa.gov> wrote:
>I am looking for a fast-loading lisp to replace all of my awk
>programming and much of my zsh programming under unix.
  I use Aubrey's Jaffer SCM for this purpose.  It's a Scheme
interpreter, not a LISP one, but you'll find Scheme easy to learn.

SCM does

>	o have a regular expression parser and string functions
>	o be able to write to and read from standard i/o
>	o be able to call unix shell scripts or programs
>	o have reasonable floating point support
>	o load quickly and run fast interpreted
>	o have few constraints on its use or redistribution
>	o have defmacro, hash tables, loop, and streams
>	o be very freely redistributable and very portable
>	o be able to parse and eval the command line used to call it
>	o run as fast as gawk interpreted or faster compiled

  but I fear it doesn't
>	o compile or dump into a fast-loading binary
>	o have high level pipes and sockets (e.g. Common Lisp streams,
>	  elisp processes, or shell "|"), [...] processes,
>	  setf, and filename parsing.

  I understand you'd prefer a more traditional lisp, but I found out
that Scheme allows you to write all you could write in Lisp were it
not for the (eq? #f '()) difference (i.e. you can't write 
(or (assoc a l) (foobar a)) ).
                                 J. Chroboczek
From: Marshall Abrams
Subject: Re: fast-loading lisp sought to replace awk and zsh
Date: 
Message-ID: <1994Jun2.024645.5949@midway.uchicago.edu>
In article <··········@nef.ens.fr> ···@jonque.ens.fr (Juliusz Chroboczek) writes:
>In article <······················@ptolemy-ethernet.arc.nasa.gov>,
>k p c <···@ptolemy.arc.nasa.gov> wrote:
>>I am looking for a fast-loading lisp to replace all of my awk
>>programming and much of my zsh programming under unix.
>  I use Aubrey's Jaffer SCM for this purpose.  It's a Scheme
>interpreter, not a LISP one, but you'll find Scheme easy to learn.
>
 ...
>
>  I understand you'd prefer a more traditional lisp, but I found out
>that Scheme allows you to write all you could write in Lisp were it
>not for the (eq? #f '()) difference (i.e. you can't write 
>(or (assoc a l) (foobar a)) ).

If SCM is compiled with SICP defined, (eq? #f '()) will be true
(see scmfig.h).
-- 

Marshall Abrams                              ····@midway.uchicago.edu
From: Bill Janssen
Subject: Re: fast-loading lisp sought to replace awk and zsh
Date: 
Message-ID: <JANSSEN.94Jun1131401@holmes.PARC.Xerox.Com>
In article <······················@ptolemy-ethernet.arc.nasa.gov> ···@ptolemy.arc.nasa.gov (k p c) writes:

   I am looking for a fast-loading lisp to replace all of my awk
   programming and much of my zsh programming under unix.

I probably shouldn't even suggest it here, but the language Python works
quite well for such things.  It satisfies:

	   o have a regular expression parser and string functions
	   o be able to write to and read from standard i/o
	   o be able to call unix shell scripts or programs
	   o have reasonable floating point support
	   o load quickly and run fast interpreted
	   o have few constraints on its use or redistribution
	   o compile or dump into a fast-loading binary
	   o be very freely redistributable and very portable
	   o be able to parse and eval the command line used to call it
	   o have high level pipes and sockets (e.g. Common Lisp streams,
	     elisp processes, or shell "|"), bignums, processes,
	     and filename parsing.
	   o have hash tables, loop, and streams

but not:

	   o have ratios, setf, defmacro

Don't know about

	   o run as fast as gawk interpreted or faster compiled

but the byte-compiler seems good.  It also supports loading of object code
to add new primitives written in C.  The syntax is clear and easy to learn.
But if ELK isn't enough for you, this might not be interesting.

ftp://gatekeeper.dec.com/pub/plan/python/cwi/nluug-paper.ps gives a brief
overview, and comparison with several other interpreted languages.

Bill
--
 Bill Janssen  <·······@parc.xerox.com> (415) 812-4763  FAX: (415) 812-4777
 Xerox Palo Alto Research Center, 3333 Coyote Hill Rd, Palo Alto, CA  94304
 URL:  ftp://parcftp.parc.xerox.com/pub/ilu/misc/janssen.html
From: Eric Jeschke
Subject: Re: fast-loading lisp sought to replace awk and zsh
Date: 
Message-ID: <1994Jun9.141521.5464@news.cs.indiana.edu>
···@ptolemy.arc.nasa.gov (k p c) writes:

:I am looking for a fast-loading lisp to replace all of my awk
:programming and much of my zsh programming under unix.

[etc. etc. etc.]

:I speak Common Lisp and elisp (either of which would be fine if it
:weren't for the fast-loading restriction), but not Scheme.  I've seen
:elk and it might do, but I'd like more cl/el-ishness if possible.
:Libraries are fine.  I don't need obscure features.  Can WCL do what I
:need?  cscheme?  Any other suggestions?

:Ideas?  Encouragement?  Brainstorms?  ftp sites?

P-E-R-L

-- 
Eric Jeschke                      |          Indiana University
·······@cs.indiana.edu            |     Computer Science Department
From: Ben A. Mesander
Subject: Re: fast-loading lisp sought to replace awk and zsh
Date: 
Message-ID: <BEN.94Jun9162009@piglet.cr.usgs.gov>
In article <····················@news.cs.indiana.edu> "Eric Jeschke" <·······@cs.indiana.edu> writes:
   ···@ptolemy.arc.nasa.gov (k p c) writes:

   :I am looking for a fast-loading lisp to replace all of my awk
   :programming and much of my zsh programming under unix.

   [etc. etc. etc.]

   :I speak Common Lisp and elisp (either of which would be fine if it
   :weren't for the fast-loading restriction), but not Scheme.  I've seen
   :elk and it might do, but I'd like more cl/el-ishness if possible.
   :Libraries are fine.  I don't need obscure features.  Can WCL do what I
   :need?  cscheme?  Any other suggestions?

   :Ideas?  Encouragement?  Brainstorms?  ftp sites?

   P-E-R-L

UNIX must have rotted your brain. Perl is not lisp.

--
Ben Mesander                             #!/bin/ksh
This is not official USGS policy, etc.   print I am not a perl hacker.