Path: utzoo!utgpu!news-server.csri.toronto.edu!cs.utexas.edu!uunet!world!paradigm!gjc
From: gjc@paradigm.com
Newsgroups: comp.lang.lisp.franz
Subject: Re: Franz Lisp for Sun Sparcs Station running sun OS4.1
Message-ID: <1918@paradigm.com>
Date: 6 Dec 90 10:09:57 GMT
References: <28532@usc>
Organization: Paradigm Associates Inc, Cambridge MA
Lines: 39

In article <28532@usc>, charles@rayleigh.usc.edu (Charles A. Njinda) writes:
> I am interested in getting Franz Lisp for Sun Sparc Stations running Sun
> OS4.1. Could some kind soul please tell me where I can get a copy either
> by ftp or some other means?
> 
> We have just upgraded our sun system to sparc stations and our previous
> version for sun 3/60 can not be used. We do not have the source codes !!
> 
> Please email
>       charles@poisson.usc.edu
> 
>  or
>      mb@poisson.usc.edu
> 
> Regards
> 
> Charles

As far as anyone knows the Franz Lisp system has not been ported to
the Sparc. Porting the C code of the interpreter may not be too difficult,
and dealing with the bit of assembler in the bignum package may not be
too bad, (most of it could be replaced by C code), but the COMPILER
may be difficult.

The Franz compiler originally generated VAX assembler, and a 68000 code
generator was added at Berkley in the early 1980's. There have been ports
to other processors, such as the NS32000 (which is similar to 68xxx and VAX).

The SPARC would be different than these. Perhaps it would not be too big
a job to generate straightforward code, since the usage of the VAX and 68xxx
instructures sets was not at all extensive in the original compiler.

As far as getting the source codes. Try Anonymous FTP to BU.EDU
and looking in the language or lisp subdirectories.

Oh. The other changes needed would be to the FASLOADER, to account for
the difference between BSD and "COMMON" (SYSV) object format.

-gjc