In article <··········@news.ccit.arizona.edu>, Devin Hosea
<·····@interi.com> wrote:
|I threw out this idea for discussion a few months ago, and I never got a
|good answer from the guys at Digitool:
|
|Why not port MCL to Windows?
|
|Follow the reasoning:
|
| (1) Everyone agrees that MCL is the best LISP environment
|
| (2) Everyone agrees (like it or not) that Windows is the dominant
| operating system, and will likely become more dominant.
|
|The current split between Windows and MacOS on desktop machines is about
|90/10, or so I understand. Therefore, Digitool would increase its
|market size 9-fold by porting MCL to Windows. It would also have a much
|easier time getting funding to do so, because 99% of the corporate world
|believes that Macs and the MacOS is moribund.
|
|Please, somebody at Digitool, or somebody else, tell me why you're not
|considering this?
I can only guess...
o A port would basically be a complete rewrite
o *SUPPORT* for a WCL would be *MORE* than 9-fold that needed for Mac
o Making MCL PowerPC native is taking all the time they have, and then some
o As wonderful as it is, there's a *LOT* of room for improvement/expansion
o Adding the people needed to do WCL would be too quick a growth for Digitool
[After all, it just formed {ok, splintered off} recently.
Change *TOO* fast is bad for business.]
o There is already a not-too-icky Windoze CL to compete with
OTOH, the PowerPC port they're finishin up now, which is itself probably a
complete rewrite, may have been done with an eye to a Windoze port, for
all I know.
[Disclaimer] I am *not* trying to start a flame war about Mac/PC support
and just how big is the difference. The 9-fold number difference is
almost certainly completely wrong one way or the other.
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-- "TANSTAAFL" Rich ·····@ils.nwu.edu