Gabriel Dos Reis <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> writes: > The substantial difference is that one between a plateform specific > assembly language (such as x86) and a portable high level language > (such as SML or Haskell).
I am curious about the goal. Is it to write a new compiler/interpreter/runtime for a new Universal Assembly Language from scratch? Modify an existing (simple) Lisp system to provide only the fundamental building blocks (like CCL)? Use a combination of existing tools to implement the foundation (new gcc front end say, or targeting LLVM. Addressing runtime issues using common garbage collectors like Bohem-GC plus a good chunk of custom code, etc). Or is the goal to identify the minimal requirements and attempt to provide back end translators to various hosting environments (JVM, .NET, etc) which provide the needed facilities? Perhaps a mixture of the above? Clearly this has nothing to do with Lisp. Using a full Common Lisp system to host an assembly type language which provides nothing more than primitives like arrays, integer arithmetic, access to system level resources -- only to reimplemented many of Common Lisp's features on top of -- is pure bloat. Perhaps just picking an existing back end which was designed for such purposes (like LLVM), and writing a boot/spad/aldor compiler on top of it, would give the best long term results (flexibility via embedded jit compilation, efficiency in execution, custom crafted runtime support, native interface to C/C++ libraries, etc, etc). I am just interested in understanding what the strategy is. Constructing Axiom on top of a custom UAL implies a lot of work, but certainly has its advantages. Of course, I am not at all confident that the end result would be any better than just using Lisp to begin with (and in particular, choosing one lisp, GCL, and allow ourselves to exploit all of its non-standard features), but I am trying to keep an open mind. Take care, Steve _______________________________________________ Axiom-developer mailing list Axiom-developer@nongnu.org http://lists.nongnu.org/mailman/listinfo/axiom-developer
