Re: [cormanlisp] Maxima and Corman Common Lisp

> Cc: "'maxima@www.math.utexas.edu'" <maxima@www.ma.utexas.edu>,
>    <cormanlisp@yahoogroups.com>
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> From: "Mike Thomas" <miketh at brisbane>
> X-Yahoo-Profile: mjthomasau
> Mailing-List: list cormanlisp@yahoogroups.com; contact cormanlisp-owner@yahoogroups.com
> Date: Fri, 7 Jun 2002 09:05:16 +1000
> Reply-To: cormanlisp@yahoogroups.com
> 
> Hi James.
> 
> Thanks for the reply.  (CC'ed now to the Corman Lisp mailing list for expert
> advice - Maxima is a well known Computer Algebra system, James Amundson is
> the maintainer, I am an interested bystander).
> 
> > Porting the cvs version of Maxima to Corman Lisp should be fairly
> > simple.
> 
> Possibly an optimistic view given that there seems to be no such thing as a
> Common Lisp compiler which will compile code that compiles on another of
> it's alleged ilk.

The problem with Maxima is that is twofold
1 - it is written in a very old style of Lisp (although CL)
2 - it is still hanging on too much GCL cruft. (Why should I load
    "sloop" when I am working with CMUCL?)

> > If you are interested in doing so, please, please, please ask
> > for help on the maxima mailing list.
> 
> I think that a Corman version of Maxima would be good as it might enable
> Maxima to be set up as a COM server or even embedded as an OLE object (eg in
> Word documents or Excel spreadsheets) under Windows in the hands of an
> experienced practitioner.  Following your separately emailed advice to try
> loading "lisp-utils/defsystem.lisp", the results are included below.

This will not work.  I have a vested interest in making MK:DEFSYSTEM
work on CCL.  But CCL is not conformant enough to ANSI when it comes
to pathname handling.  Hence, MK:DEFSYSTEM 3.x (and - even less - 4.x)
does nto work on CCL.

> I can provide a copy of the offending file to any of the Corman Lisp experts
> out there who might take an interest.
> 
> Cheers
> 
> Mike Thomas
> 
> Corman Lisp 1.5 Copyright © 2001 Roger Corman. All rights reserved.
> 
> NIL
> 
> Warning: function not defined: CANONICALIZE-MODULE-NAME

This seems a leftover from an older version of MK:DEFSYSTEM 3.x.  It
seems like the version distributed with Maxima is not up to date.
Please download the official one from the CLOCC.

> 
> Warning: function not defined: MODULE-FILES
> 
> NIL
> 
> #<PACKAGE "MAKE">
> 
> "MAKE"
> 
> (:MK-DEFSYSTEM :CORMANLISP :PL :COMMON-LISP :WIN32)
> 
> T
> 
> NIL
> 
> *DEFSYSTEM-VERSION*
> 
> *DONT-REDEFINE-REQUIRE*
> 
> *MULTIPLE-LISP-SUPPORT*
> 
> Warning: function not defined: USER-HOMEDIR-PATHNAME

This is a ANSI problem with CCL.  It is not the only one that prevents
MK:DEFSYSTEM (or any program relying on conformant behavior of
pathnames) to work on CCL.

The rest seems a consequence of these preblems.

Now.  Here is the suggestion.  Why not lift CMUCL pathname code and
import it in CCL?  (While, please, not making :host NIL, thanks).

Cheers

-- 
Marco Antoniotti ========================================================
NYU Courant Bioinformatics Group        tel. +1 - 212 - 998 3488
719 Broadway 12th Floor                 fax  +1 - 212 - 995 4122
New York, NY 10003, USA                 http://bioinformatics.cat.nyu.edu
                    "Hello New York! We'll do what we can!"
                           Bill Murray in `Ghostbusters'.