Overview and status of DoradoLisp

ABSTRACT

DoradoLisp is an implementation of the Interlisp programming system on a large personal computer. It has evolved from AltoLisp, an implementation on a less powerful machine. The major goal of the Dorado implementation was to eliminate the performance deficiencies of the previous system. This paper describes the current status of the system and discusses some of the issues that arose during its implementation. Among the techniques that helped us meet our performance goal were transferring much of the kernel software into Lisp, intensive use of performance measurement tools to determine the areas of worst performance, and use of the Interlisp programming environment to allow rapid and widespread improvements to the system code. The paper lists some areas in which performance was critical and offers some observations on how our experience might be useful to other implementations of Interlisp.

REFERENCES

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INDEX TERMS

Primary Classification:
  C. Computer Systems Organization
  C.5 COMPUTER SYSTEM IMPLEMENTATION
      C.5.3 Microcomputers

          Nouns: Dorado

Additional Classification:
  D. Software
  D.3 PROGRAMMING LANGUAGES
      D.3.2 Language Classifications

          Nouns: INTERLISP
  D.4 OPERATING SYSTEMS
      D.4.8 Performance
          Subjects: Measurements

General Terms:
Design, Languages, Performance