Bakul Shah wrote:
>>>I doubt if the bootloader will ever change from FORTH, but if it
>>>does, I suggest LISP as the preferred choice on a short-list of
>>>potential replacements.
>>>
>>Show us a suitable LISP interpreter, then.
>>
>
> I don't know what size constraints the bootloader has to have
> but the smallest two lisp interpreters I have found are:
>
> $ cd /usr/ports/lang/slisp/work/slisp-1.2/src
> $ size slisp
> text data bss dec hex filename
> 17872 616 3584 22072 5638 slisp
>
> $ wc *.h *.c
> 67 321 2266 extern.h
> 69 335 2053 slisp.h
> 927 2438 15990 funcs.c
> 189 730 4707 lexer.c
> 147 458 3232 main.c
> 287 832 6358 object.c
> 136 470 3370 parser.c
> 1822 5584 37976 total
>
> slisp has most of the common lisp constructs.
That would be a perfect candidate. Low source file count, compact in core [depending
on dynamic requirements]. Easily modifiable
for the task, and looks to have a usable base subset of the language.
> $ cd ~/lang/Scheme/tinyscm-1.27
> $ size scheme
> text data bss dec hex filename
> 61342 4476 3480 69298 10eb2 scheme
> $ wc *.h *.c
> 12 33 247 dynload.h
> 344 1136 9221 scheme.h
> 126 292 2589 dynload.c
> 4445 12353 125421 scheme.c
> 4927 13814 137478 total
>
> Tinyscheme is a mostly complete R5RS Scheme (R5RS is the
> closest thing to a Scheme standard) -- everything except
> complex and rational number types, bignums, hygenic macros
> and call-with-values and unwind-protect. You can probably
> subset it quite a bit to make it far smaller (e.g. the real
> number type and advanced math functions to avoid linking in
> libm). If it matters to you, it has a BSD style licence.
>
> http://tinyscheme.sourceforge.net/home.html
> http://tinyscheme.sourceforge.net/tinyscheme-1.27.tar.gz
The problems of Scheme are much like the problems of FORTH. It's a niche language
that has few proficient programmers. LISP may
not be "mainstream", but it's far more so than Scheme [or FORTH for that matter], and
is commonly taught in CompSci classes, meaning
that most serious programmers have at least been familiarized with the language, in
fact, your local drating tech may be quite
proficient in it [AutoCAD uses LISP]...
I personally don't care if FORTH stays, but if it's up for debate, LISP is a great
choice.
jim
--
ET has one helluva sense of humor!
He's always anal-probing right-wing schizos!
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