Xref: utzoo comp.emacs:8381 comp.lang.perl:1392 Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!mailrus!uunet!snorkelwacker!paperboy!husc6!encore!pierson From: pierson@encore.com (Dan L. Pierson) Newsgroups: comp.emacs,comp.lang.perl Subject: Re: Why Lisp? (Was: Re: Remember how great editors used to be?) Message-ID: Date: 30 May 90 18:35:29 GMT References: <7572@tekgvs.LABS.TEK.COM> <13829@csli.Stanford.EDU> <12602@netcom.UUCP> <13831@csli.Stanford.EDU> <1990May30.052145.15392@agate.berkeley.edu> Sender: news@Encore.COM Followup-To: comp.emacs,comp.lang.perl Organization: Encore Computer Corporation Lines: 36 In-reply-to: pierson@encore.com's message of 30 May 90 14:11:54 GMT About Emacs extension languages. On 30 May 90 14:11:54 GMT, pierson@encore.com (Dan L. Pierson) said: > The most important thing in an extension language is that it be > very flexible, modifiable and efficient enough. In particular: it has > to support high-level datatypes such as buffers, windows, and keymaps; > it has to link functions at call time so that lower level behavior can > be customized (a real advantage of symbol function values); and it has > to support function-valued hook variables. It is very useful if the > syntax support these features is as concise and readable as possible. > A full interpreted mode also helps; both for debugging and quick > interaction without a compile cycle. I was thinking about this a bit more over lunch and came up with a truely horrible idea for all the Lisp haters out there: !!!! PLEASE, DON'T ANYONE ACTUALLY DO THIS !!!! But, just for the fun of it, think of an Emacs based on Perl instead of Lisp... You'd have to add a redisplay command, buffer and window data structures with associated magic (should either of them be accessed as filehandles?, arrays?). A special keymap structure might be useful, but could probably be dispensed with. Regular expression support and functions are already there. Incremental compilation and loading would be needed. X support... What else? -- dan In real life: Dan Pierson, Encore Computer Corporation, Research UUCP: {talcott,linus,necis,decvax}!encore!pierson Internet: pierson@encore.com