From: utzoo!decvax!harpo!seismo!hao!hplabs!sri-unix!DEAN@USC-ECL
Newsgroups: net.unix-wizards
Title: Is Unix Really This Bad?
Article-I.D.: sri-unix.5226
Posted: Mon Feb 28 08:46:53 1983
Received: Tue Mar  1 08:58:26 1983

From: Jeff Dean 
Date: 10 Jan 1983 1126-PST
Comments?
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Return-path: GJC@MIT-MC
Received: from MIT-MC by USC-ECL; Friday, 7 Jan 83 11:24:48-PST
Date: 7 January 1983 14:23-EST
From: George J. Carrette 
Subject:  Release of VAX-"New Implementation of LISP"
To: DEAN @ USC-ECL
cc: BUG-NIL @ MIT-MC
In-reply-to: The message of 6 Jan 1983 2105-PST from Jeff Dean 

    Date: 6 Jan 1983 2105-PST
    From: Jeff Dean 
    To:   GJC
    Re:   Release of VAX-"New Implementation of LISP"

    Do you know anything about NIL for Unix?

[Kashtan suggested that if we brought it first up under EUNICE that
 we could make a unix'able "A.OUT" binary file with minimal hassle.]

Our mission has always been to get the highest performance, and most
generally useful, LISP-SYSTEM running on the VAX. (Or indeed, on a
particular piece of hardware). The Unix implementation on the VAX is
an inamicable environment in which to be pursuing such a goal.
Furthermore, our users view the LISP-SYSTEM as their
system-programming environment, and it is, with dynamic linking,
datastructures and primitives well suited to the VAX instruction set,
and the integration of compile-time-intent with runtime information, a
far superior environment to one conceivable within Unix philosophy,
and beyond the scope of Unix system programmers to implement at reasonable 
cost.

The above tirade aside for a moment, we do have the machine resources
to construct an inferior performance NIL to run under Unix for those
people who cannot afford to run VMS/EUNICE. These could be made available
to interested parties. In fact, since NIL is public domain there isn't
anything to stop anybody from bringing it up under Unix.

-GJC

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