lord@emf.emf.net (Tom Lord) writes:
> Is there any OpenSource OS or Arcitecture that uses Lisp,
> Scheme, or ScSh to create a Lisp Machine.
>
> How hard would it be to turn a Linux box into a Scheme/Lisp machine.
>
>
> If one were freely available, and more people started using
> and liking it, it could cause a rebirth of the Lisp
> Machine--just like Linux caused the rebirth of UNIX.
>
>
> It sounds like you are just playing around with ideas, so here are
> some toys:
>
>
> 1) Don't bother trying to make a new kernel. Use an existing one.
> Otherwise, at _best_, you'll spend a decade fretting over device
> drivers and the tcp/ip stack. Anyway, unix kernels are pretty good
> -- even as lispm kernels. Unless your goal is OS research -- just
> "take" rather than "make" that component.
Along those lines, you might want to check out the Flux OsKit.
From <http://www.cs.utah.edu/flux/oskit/>:
The OSKit is a framework and a set of 34 component libraries
oriented to operating systems, together with extensive
documentation. By providing in a modular way not only most of the
infrastructure "grunge" needed by an OS, but also many higher-level
components, the OSKit's goal is to lower the barrier to entry to OS
R&D and to lower its costs. The OSKit makes it vastly easier to
create a new OS, port an existing OS to the x86 (or in the future,
to other architectures supported by the OSkit), or enhance an OS to
support a wider range of devices, file system formats, executable
formats, or network services. The OSKit also works well for
constructing OS-related programs, such as boot loaders or OS-level
servers atop a microkernel.
For language researchers and enthusiasts, the OSKit lets them
concentrate on the real issues raised by using advanced languages
inside operating systems, such as Java, Lisp, Scheme, or ML---
instead of spending six months or years groveling inside ugly code
and hardware. With the recent addition of extensive multithreading
and sophisticated scheduling support, the OSKit also provides a
nmodular platform for embedded applications, as well as a novel
component-based approach to constructing entire operating systems.
-Peter
--
Peter Seibel peter@javamonkey.com
The intellectual level needed for system design is in general
grossly underestimated. I am convinced more than ever that this
type of work is very difficult and that every effort to do it with
other than the best people is doomed to either failure or moderate
success at enormous expense. --Edsger Dijkstra
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