Re: adding to kernel

[Fahlman at CMU-20C]

The ability to link system calls and compiled routines written in the
barbarous tongues into Common Lisp will be important in some
implementations.  In others, this will be handled by inter-process
message passing (Spice) or by translating everything into Lisp or
Lispish byte-codes (Symbolics).  In any event, it seems clear that
features of this sort must be implementation-dependent packages rather
than parts of the Common Lisp core.

As for what implementations are planned, I know of the following that
are definitely underway: Spice Lisp, S1-NIL, VAX-NIL, and Zetalisp
(Symbolics).  Several other implementations (for Vax, Tops-20, IBM 4300
series, and a portable implementation from the folks at Utah) are being
considered, but it is probably premature to discuss the details of any
of these, since as far as I know none of them are definite as yet.  The
one implmentation I can discuss is Spice Lisp.

Spice is a multiple process, multiple language, portable computing
environment for powerful personal machines (i.e. more powerful than the
current generation of micros).  It is being developed by a large group
of people at CMU, with mostly ARPA funding.  Spice Lisp is the Common
Lisp implementation for personal machines running Spice.  Scott Fahlman
and Guy Steele are in charge.  The first implementation is for the Perq
1a with 16K microstore and 1 Mbyte main memory (it will NOT run on the
Perq 1).  We will probably be porting all of the Spice system, including
the Lisp, to the Symbolics 3600 when this machine is available, with
other implementations probably to follow.

The PERQ implementation will probably be distributed and maintained by
3RCC as one of the operating systems for the PERQ; we would hope to
develop similar arrangements with other manufacturers of machines on
which Spice runs, since we at CMU are not set up to do maintenance for
lots of customers ourselves.

Standardization for awhile will (we hope) be a result of adhering to the
Common Lisp Manual; once Common Lisp has had a couple of years to
settle, it might be worth freezing a version and going for ANSI
standardization, but not until then.
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