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From: olasov@cs.columbia.edu (Benjamin Olasov)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.clos
Subject: Re: Lisp -vs- C
Message-ID: <1991Jun7.211246.19181@cs.columbia.edu>
Date: 7 Jun 91 21:12:46 GMT
References: <42280@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU> <1991Jun4.172218.13803@leland.Stanford.EDU>
Organization: Columbia University Department of Computer Science
Lines: 32

In article <1991Jun4.172218.13803@leland.Stanford.EDU> jln@leland.Stanford.EDU (Jared Nedzel) writes:
>In article <42280@ucbvax.BERKELEY.EDU> larry@postgres.Berkeley.EDU writes:
>
>>  And, has anybody
>>looked at the customization language for AutoCad?  It's a home grown Lisp.
>>I don't know if either product uses an object system.
>
>Btw, AutoLisp is described by AutoDesk as a "superset of a subset of Lisp."
>That is, it is a subset of lisp with access to the drawing/object manipulation
>functions of AutoCad.  It doesn't have CLOS.  People who have used it tell
>me it has some significant limitations as an implementation of lisp.  The
>newest version of AutoCad (Release 11), allows developers to customise
>AutoCad using C, rather than AutoLisp.

AutoLisp is based on David Betz's XLISP program.  Apparently this was
something that AutoDesk's president John Walker decided to incorporate
in AutoCad one weekend, and it was really a nifty idea!

Yes, if you're used to full Common LISPs you'll find it limiting
(no &keyword or &optional arguments possible, etc., etc.) but in
terms of what it can do, it's really very nice.

One company in California interfaces it to CLOS and other Common LISP
applcations by having the Common LISP application write out a
program that AutoLisp can read, and thereby increases the scope
of what can be be done with the AutoLisp interpreter.

In short, it's neat!  I use it often - if you have specific questions
on it, email me.


Ben	olasov@cs.columbia.edu