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From: forbus@uiucdcsp.CS.UIUC.EDU
Newsgroups: net.ai
Subject: Re: Any data on programmer productivity
Message-ID: <3500007@uiucdcsp>
Date: Wed, 23-Oct-85 12:14:00 EDT
Article-I.D.: uiucdcsp.3500007
Posted: Wed Oct 23 12:14:00 1985
Date-Received: Fri, 25-Oct-85 08:08:54 EDT
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Nf-From: uiucdcsp.CS.UIUC.EDU!forbus    Oct 23 11:14:00 1985


Your best source for raw performance data is
	"Performance and Evaluation of Lisp Systems"
	by Richard P. Gabriel, $25 from MIT press

This is the book form of Gabriel's DARPA-funded study.  One of the amazing
regularities is that performance of specialized lisp machines is vastly
better than any mainframe run as a STAND-ALONE machine, much less
time-shared.  The only exception is running a Cray stand-alone; no
measurements are available for a time-shared Cray.

The second aspect concerns programming environments, and that's much harder
to quantify.  The basic argument against Unix tools as being relevant to
Lisp is that they are basically string-oriented.  For operating-system type
things, for supporting C programs and the like they certainly are important.
But they provide no interesting help for writing, editing, debugging, and
maintaining large Lisp programs.  The best source of information on
environments is to call up the sales reps of the various lisp machine
companies (Symbolics, TI, Xerox, LMI) and ask them for some technical specs.
Obviously they are more than happy to provide such information, and have
people who make their living discussing these issues.