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Interlisp.medley/README.md
Larry Masinter 5c0bcdfdde
Update instructions for building and running & coordinate with Wiki (#161)
* Move instructions for building and running to Wiki

* oops typo

* Move (revised) build instructions back

* More tweaking
2021-01-22 11:24:52 -08:00

3.6 KiB

Medley

This repo is for the Lisp environment of Medley Interlisp. We've made great process in sorting out what we have (some dusty corners notwithstanding), but there's quite a bit more work to do. Please report problems!

See Medley Interlisp Introduction for an overview.

A sub-project is Interlisp/maiko, which is the implementation (in C) of the Medley virtual machine.

Instructions for Building and Running

Setting up X

Medley Interlisp needs an X-Server to manage its display. Most Linux desktops have one. If you have a high-resolution display, note that much of the graphics was designed for a low-resolution display, so an X-server that does "pixel doublilng" is best. (E.g., Raspberry Pi does pixel doubling on 4K displayes).

  • It also presumes you have a 3-button mouse (the scroll-wheel on some mice act as one with some difficulty.) See README-mac.md for more info on dealing with that.

Running Medley Interlisp

The run-medley script in this repo sets up some convenient defaults. Running Medley can be done by typing:

$ cd medley
$ ./run-medley

Or, if you wish to start Medley up with a different SYSOUT:

$ cd medley
$ ./run-medley <SYSOUT-file-name>

Once the system comes up, give it a few seconds to initialize.

The first time the system is run it loads the system image that comes with the system. When you exit the system (or "do a SaveVM" menu option) the state of your machine is saved in a file named ~/lisp.virtualmem. Subsequent system startups load the ~/lisp.virtualmem image by default.

Exiting The System

The system may be exited from the Interlisp prompt by typing:

(LOGOUT)

Or from the Common Lisp prompt with:

(IL:LOGOUT)

When you logout of the system, Medley automatically creates a binary dump of your system located in your home directory named lisp.virtualmem. The next time you run the system, if you don't specify a specific image to run, Medley restores that image so that you can continue right where you left off.

Naming conventions and directory structure

File Names and Extensions: Most Interlisp source file names are UPPERCASE and Interlisp didn't use file extensions for its source files. A .TEDIT or .TXT file is probably documentation for the package of same name, at least in the library, internal/library, lispusers.

The current repo has both Lisp sources and compiled .LCOM and .DFASL files, because some files don't compile in a vanilla lisp.sysout .

Each directory should have a README.md, but briefly

  • docs -- Documentation files (either PDFs or online help)
  • fonts -- raster fonts (or font widths) in various resolutions for display, postscript, interpress, press formats
  • greetfiles -- various configuration setups
  • internal -- These were internal to Venue; now internal/library and internal/test
  • library -- packages that were supported (30 years ago)
  • lispusers -- packages that were only half supported (ditto)
  • loadups -- has sysouts and other builds
  • makesysout -- files for making new sysouts for various configurations, based on basics
  • patches -- for cases where reloading doesn't wor
  • sunloadup -- support information for making a new lisp.sysout from scratch
  • sources -- sources for Interlisp and Common Lisp implementations
  • unicode -- data files for support of XCCS to and from Unicode mappings

plus Dockerfile, and scripts for building and running medley