Is Maxima modular?...(and/or How learn source code?...)

> If you took initiative to study and learn the LISP code on
> your own then you deserve to be a member of the Maxima dev team.

Chris,

What I didn't say (I think others on the list already know it) was that
a lot of that code reading etc. happened in 1971-77, when I was
fortunate to be a very junior member of the original Macsyma development
team.  That I could figure out the Macsyma code when I was 15 gives me
some confidence that others will, too.  Of course, I did have the
benefit of the guidance of more senior members of the team, like Rich
Fateman.  Surprisingly, even after 25 years away from the code
(Maclisp-only at that point), I still find it looks familiar.  That
said, there are large swathes of the code that I didn't know before and
which I am learning now by reading and experimenting.

> My tendency would be to start all over and write a beautiful
> commented object oriented CA from scratch

That's precisely what other groups have done: Axiom, for example, which
is now open source.  Since Axiom has not yet been released, though, I
can't say what its advantages and disadvantages are.  I do know that
Maxima has benefitted from years of practical experience, and tends to
be very pragmatic.

      -s