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From: dove@savax.UUCP (webster dove)
Newsgroups: comp.lang.lisp
Subject: frustration with LUCID on Sun 3
Message-ID: <611@savax.UUCP>
Date: Wed, 29-Apr-87 18:28:53 EDT
Article-I.D.: savax.611
Posted: Wed Apr 29 18:28:53 1987
Date-Received: Sat, 2-May-87 03:49:10 EDT
Organization: Sanders Associates Nashua,NH
Lines: 30

We are trying to use LUCID 2.0 on a Sun 3/110 with their window
package, and it seems that the least trivial error will leave a window
on the screen blocking the other windows and essentially wedge the
lisp (^C gets ignored etc.).  

On the Symbolics, one could click right to get a menu and kill the
current window or hit ctrl-abort and get a lisp stream.  With this
Lucid environment, things seem much less friendly.

Also, the paging with 4 MBytes of ram is outrageous.

It is bad enough that I am considering having people use C instead of
Lisp just to get the project done.

This surprises me because I was quite happy with software development
on the Symbolics, and had made the assumption that Lisp was at the
root of that contentment.

Now it seems that the implementation of things like the window system
(doesn't use flavors under Lucid), condition handling (non-existant
under Lucid), the debugging facilities (not window oriented/mouseable
under Lucid), the multi-process nature of the Symbolics and the polish
of their system (things like command line editing aren't available
under Lucid) were what I really liked about using the Symbolics.

Have others had this experience?

Am I using Lucid improperly?

Should I have bought some utilities to assist me on the Sun?