@clausatz ☝️ NoteCards, the pioneering hypermedia system written in @interlisp at Xerox PARC, was featured in a talk at the ACM Hypertext 2025 conference.
Paolo Amoroso
boosted
@interlisp ☝️ The syntax of FORMAT and LOOP blends with Common Lisp in a way similar to how the CLISP notation augments Interlisp. I don't mind the odd syntaxes of these little languages as they don't force to step outside the language for expressing specialized tasks.
@interlisp ☝️ The syntax of FORMAT and LOOP blends with Common Lisp in a way similar to how the CLISP notation augments Interlisp. I don't mind the odd syntaxes of these little languages as they don't force to step outside the language for expressing specialized tasks.
CLISP (Conversational LISP) is the Algol-like infix notation of Interlisp. Chapter 23 of the 1978 edition of the Interlisp Reference Manual (page 554 of the PDF) explains the design goals of the notation and how it integrates with the prefix syntax of Lisp.
https://www.softwarepreservation.org/projects/LISP/interlisp/Interlisp-Oct_1978.pdf#page=554
Lisping like it's the 1970s: my setup and initial experience with Interlisp-10, the Interlisp implementation for the PDP-10.
https://journal.paoloamoroso.com/paoloamoroso/exploring-interlisp-10-and-twenex
☝️ My Interlisp-10 post was shared on Hacker News, world domination is inevitable:
Alan Zimmerman
boosted
The 1986 paper "LISP as an Environment for Software Design: Powerful and Perspicuous" presented the features of Lisp for prototyping knowledge-intensive clinical applications, with examples and code in Interlisp.
The 1986 paper "LISP as an Environment for Software Design: Powerful and Perspicuous" presented the features of Lisp for prototyping knowledge-intensive clinical applications, with examples and code in Interlisp.
Lisping like it's the 1970s: my setup and initial experience with Interlisp-10, the Interlisp implementation for the PDP-10.
https://journal.paoloamoroso.com/paoloamoroso/exploring-interlisp-10-and-twenex
Using LLMs to chat with books and documents? That's so 1978.
In the 1970s the HELPSYS facility of Interlisp-10 let you interrogate the 700+ pages Interlisp Reference Manual via an English like syntax. You could run queries on topics and system functions such as TELL ME ABOUT EVAL or TELL ME ABOUT THE 2ND ARG OF CHANGEPROP and HELPSYS would print the relevant information or section of the manual. Here's an example session from the 1978 edition of the manual:
https://www.softwarepreservation.org/projects/LISP/interlisp/Interlisp-Oct_1978.pdf#page=474
Interlisp-10 was the Interlisp implementation for the PDP-10.
Thanks to @SDF I'm checking out Interlisp-10 under the TOPS-20 operating system (aka TWENEX) running on DECSYSTEM-20 hardware. Lots of fun.
Tutorials on Interlisp-10 and its structure editor:
https://wiki.twenex.org/tutorials:interlisp
Paolo Amoroso
boosted
To edit a font on Medley Interlisp load and run the EDITFONT font editor like in the screenshot:
(FILESLOAD EDITFONT)
(EDITFONT '(TIMESROMAND 36 BOLD))
Left-click on a character to edit its bitmap, middle-click to bring up a menu.
Building Medley Interlisp from source has been dramatically faster since the past week or so: it now takes 1/3 of what it used to. I didn't modify the setup of my Linux Mint 22.1 Cinnamon box other than the usual system updates, and there were no recent major performance related changes to Medley.
I'm really happy but wonder about the source of the speedup. Perhaps some Linux kernel tweaks but my Mint release doesn't incorporate the bleeding edge.
To edit a font on Medley Interlisp load and run the EDITFONT font editor like in the screenshot:
(FILESLOAD EDITFONT)
(EDITFONT '(TIMESROMAND 36 BOLD))
Left-click on a character to edit its bitmap, middle-click to bring up a menu.
I updated my post "Do I need a Lisp Machine comeback?". I have added the new information I've found with chatting with folks on lisp IRC channels.
https://far.chickenkiller.com/computing/do-i-need-a-lisp-machine-comeback/
Seems like I was looking for was "residential style development" or something. Dunno yet what does it mean. But for sure I am digging something out of grave!
#lisp #lispmachine #interlisp #residentialdevelopment #development #softwaredevelopment #programming #commonlisp #clisp #cl #computing #computers #retrocomputing #wakegp #research
Essential LISP by John Anderson et al., published in 1987, was an introductory Lisp book based on research on how beginners learn Lisp.
https://openlibrary.org/books/OL21180323M/Essential_LISP
For code examples it used a subset of features available in most dialects of the time. Where the book differs it goes with Common Lisp with adaptation notes for other dialects, including Interlisp.
I'm learning and playing around with the TTY Editor, the command line structure editor of Medley Interlisp.
https://interlisp.org/documentation/IRM.pdf#page=262
It's the oldest Interlisp editor and predates graphical interfaces and SEdit but is still useful. The commands of the TTY Editor double as a little language for batch editing and s-exp manipulation. Think Unix sed(1) for s-exps. The language even supports EDITMACROS (wink wink). To get a flavor for the language evaluate (PRINTDEF EDITMACROS) at an Interlisp REPL.
Paolo Amoroso
boosted
@interlisp ☝️ I've been using the SEdit structure editor of Medley Interlisp for the past couple of years and I'm now more fluent with keyboard and mouse gestures, which work very well together to efficiently manipulate Lisp code.
The lack of support for cursor keys and keyboard navigation doesn't get in the way of editing. In addition to quick mouse gestures, the most common cases of cursor movement are handled by other keys such as ) for moving outside and Backspace for moving inside a list.
@interlisp ☝️ I've been using the SEdit structure editor of Medley Interlisp for the past couple of years and I'm now more fluent with keyboard and mouse gestures, which work very well together to efficiently manipulate Lisp code.
The lack of support for cursor keys and keyboard navigation doesn't get in the way of editing. In addition to quick mouse gestures, the most common cases of cursor movement are handled by other keys such as ) for moving outside and Backspace for moving inside a list.
@interlisp ☝️ I've been using the SEdit structure editor of Medley Interlisp for the past couple of years and I'm now more fluent with keyboard and mouse gestures, which work very well together to efficiently manipulate Lisp code.
The lack of support for cursor keys and keyboard navigation doesn't get in the way of editing. In addition to quick mouse gestures, the most common cases of cursor movement are handled by other keys such as ) for moving outside and Backspace for moving inside a list.
An introduction to the usage and design of SEdit, the structure editor for Lisp code of Medley Interlisp:
https://files.interlisp.org/medley/docs/internal/sedit/old/intro.tedit.pdf
For more details on the usage and internals of SEdit see (especially code-editing.tedit.pdf):