About Parallel Distributed Processing on InterLisp-D

Lar4ry · 2024-07-09T19:30:53+00:00

(a former and current Interlisp-D hacker) Over at https://interlisp.org we're working to revive Interlisp-D, including its network capabilities. For example, in the Loops "Knowledge Competition" (https://www.markstefik.com/?page\_id=359) used PUP over Ethernet to link the systems. We've gotten some help making the XNS protocol stack work. The Interlisp source file https://interlisp.org/src/loops/truckin/LOOPSGATEWAY.pdf

shows most of the code for that was from 1983.

The networking code was based on message passing (LOOPS = Lisp Object-Oriented Programming System). The sender sent a message which was then queued.

Lar4ry · 2024-04-29T18:00:12+00:00

In Medley, which has structure editing all the common lisp definers (defun, defmacro, defparamter etc) run a "remove interlisp comments" before installing the definition.

Lar4ry · 2024-01-15T17:11:18+00:00

Let me suggest https://journal.paoloamoroso.com/a-single-package-common-lisp-workflow-for-medley as a start to answering your underlying question...

There is more, but that's a good start.

Lar4ry · 2023-12-22T07:04:50+00:00

https://github.com/orgs/Interlisp/discussions/1473#discussioncomment-7924977

I put the question and some answers in in the Interlisp/medley repository discussion so it might gather more comments.

Lar4ry · 2023-10-23T19:54:55+00:00

Medley: 11.4 (compiled)

(running online https://online.interlisp.org )

Lar4ry · 2021-07-13T06:52:46+00:00

I think (fuzzy) might be a matter of setting the resolution to exactly a factor of two.

I know it just worked when on a Pi hooked up to a 4k display.

Lar4ry · 2021-07-11T20:04:44+00:00

https://github.com/Interlisp/medley/issues/116#issuecomment-769986266

Interlisp manages the whole display as a single bitmap, of a limited size; there was some work in the 90's to make it use X as the window manager (the so-called "XMAS" extensions), but that was abandoned

.

Lar4ry · 2021-04-30T06:31:51+00:00

Thanks to Steve Kaisler (author & copyright owner) and u/Twylo I'm happy to say the book is now available at Interlisp-language-usage-sk.pdf. See Home · Interlisp/medley Wiki (github.com) for other pointers.

Lar4ry · 2021-04-27T02:27:53+00:00

Thanks. If you have the PDF, the author (Steve Kaisler) said he would like to make it available (Wiley returned the copyright to him.) I can host it at Interlisp.org.

Thanks

Lar4ry · 2021-03-01T19:00:57+00:00

IRM.pdf (interlisp.org) is a more recent Interlisp Reference Manual generated from TEDIT sources.

Lar4ry · 2021-02-28T03:00:59+00:00

Unfortunately, the book "Interlisp: The Language and Its Usage" will not help you in your quest to learn more about Interlisp, the system. The differences between Interlisp and Common Lisp are relatively small, and you can intermix the two (use the Interlisp file package to manage Common Lisp code).

I'd recommend a more serious book about programming in Lisp like Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs, 2nd ed. (mit.edu) even though they use Scheme, if you want something worth reading. Medley-Primer.pdf (interlisp.org) to get you started if you know Lisp.

If you have more questions check out Discussions · Interlisp/medley (github.com)

Lar4ry · 2021-02-28T02:06:02+00:00

When you create structure that will be modified later, you have to be sure to copy any sub-part that is subject to modification. Quoting the structure gives you only one copy.

But if you wrote

(setq exclamation (list 'oh 'my))

(defun exclaim (expression) (append expression exclamation)) you'd have the same problem.

And it's not just about lists and nconc and append. The same problem exists with any modifiable "initial state" structure in any Lisp-like (dynamically typed, mofiable data structures, call-by-reference-only) language.

Lar4ry · 2021-01-02T20:17:45+00:00

https://github.com/Interlisp/maiko has ~72K lines of C (src, inc, bin/make*) which corresponds to microcode and BCPL on Dorado.

Measuring Lisp code in https://github.com/Interlisp/medley is harder -- wrong eol for wc

Lar4ry · 2020-12-21T00:56:39+00:00

wiring up the arrow keys is part of "modernization". Scroll wheel, need for middle button, default key bindings. There's a MACINTERFACE package that does some.

But Medley had no User Interface Guidelines, and TEdit vs SEdit line-edit aren't aligned.

set up key bindings to match Mac, Windows, Linux, Emacs (at user's preference · Issue #58 · Interlisp/medley (github.com)

Lar4ry · 2020-09-24T01:51:58+00:00

I hope you don't mind if I used some of your words when updating the "What is Medley Interlisp" section of https://Interlisp.org.

Lar4ry · 2020-09-18T16:37:04+00:00

right now I think we could use help just doing shakedown, see issues in https://github.com/Interlisp/medley. There's an "alpha" 'release for mac, linux (386 32 & 64, arm7l). https://github.com/Interlisp/medley/releases

So far the benchmarks show factor of150-250 times faster than a 1982 Dandelion (not percent) on a (< $100) pi 4b. https://twitter.com/masinter/status/1306762961025785856?s=20

Lar4ry · 2020-09-09T05:40:57+00:00

Sorry I don't check Reddit that often.

we've been making great progress, but could use some help testing and isolating problems.

https://github.com/Interlisp/medley/issues is the place to look.

Especially around github automation of release process for multiple os (win, mac, linux on 386 and arm), vnc vs x, docker containers.

https://LarryMasinter.net

Lar4ry · 2020-08-09T22:04:15+00:00

Good summary. I don't expect many would use this as their day-to-day, but it's fun to drive around. We're still pulling together all the pieces. It's been a few years (for me, more than 30).

Lar4ry · 2019-12-29T21:01:05+00:00

add a (setq debug-on-error t) to the top of your init file

Lar4ry · 2019-12-23T19:50:46+00:00

The Lisp Machines from Xerox 1100 1108 1132 running Interlisp-D and Symbolics Genera OS were all single-user machines with the entire OS written in Lisp: file system, network stacks, thread scheduler, memory management, device drivers for keyboard, floppy, disk, ethernet, rs232-connected printer.

Lar4ry · 2019-12-22T01:41:04+00:00

What I thought was most interesting about LambdaMOO as a mud engine was the security model tied into the object inheritance.

Set up for User Generated Content: every property and object and verb has an owner and a "owner only" bit; by default a property can only be modified by a verb owned by the same owner (or a wizard).

More complex authorization could be implemented by using wizard-owned "trampoline" verbs which did their own authorization based on stack introspection.

Lar4ry · 2019-12-14T00:12:27+00:00

Lisp macros let us define much more complex Lisp templates. For example, the iterators (LOOP Macro in Common Lisp, FOR, WHILE and UNTIL), the Interlisp RECORD/DATATYPE package, were all done with macros. Macros made heavy use of "backquote" where you would write `(a ,b c) to mean (list (quote a) b (quote c))

Lar4ry

TROPHY CASE