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From: cracauer@wavehh.hanse.de (Martin Cracauer)
Subject: Re: Do something. Now.
Message-ID: <1996Dec23.112400.23773@wavehh.hanse.de>
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References: <3059948144828413@naggum.no> <851066309snz@wildcard.demon.co.uk> <GJR.96Dec20105752@hplgr2.hpl.hp.com> <851174617snz@wildcard.demon.co.uk> <joswig-ya023180002112962143090001@news.lavielle.com>
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Date: Mon, 23 Dec 96 11:24:00 GMT
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Xref: glinda.oz.cs.cmu.edu comp.lang.lisp:24375 comp.lang.clos:4103

joswig@lavielle.com (Rainer Joswig) writes:

>Useful hacking areas for advancing Common Lisp
>==============================================

>- We like to start a Free CLIM effort. Vendors were not
>  very helpful to advance CLIM. Martin Cracauer (http://www.cons.org/)
>  has started a mailing list, which I think will get some discussion
>  started in the new year. Join now!

free-clim-request@cons.org

Personally, I'm mostly after something to do my Web applications with,
but CLIM also is an excellent tool to implement a Web browser in. The
CLIM presentation model is a really close fit to HTML.

Imagine: A *working* Web browser with all the HTML features you
want. Really customizable. Real startup scripts. Stable, no more
coredumps. Comparable output on different platforms. Coupled with some
HTML and HTTP tools from cl-http (searching etc.).

I'd say if we want a full-featured HTML/HTTP browser with source, it's
more efficient to develop the CLIM subset needed to do so on top of
Express Windows, define a fine language to let the user specify a
HTML->presentation mapping and put in HTTP support from cl-http to
feed the beast. I'd say that takes less time than to start
reimplementing Netscape's Navigator. 

>- Get threads for CMU CL. Ask Martin Cracauer about that.

Well, first of all I'd like somments on a suitable programmer
interface. See http://www.cons.org/cracauer/lisp-threads.html for an
overview of existing packages (the page is work in progress). 

>- Develop support for Common Lisp in ILU 2.0.

Seconded.

To add one item to Rainer's list:

- Steal a few ideas for scripting from scsh and hack that into
  CMUCL. The cl-http server (when it finally runs on CMUCL) will get a
  lot more flexible in environments of existing WWW pages/text-based
  databases. perl-like regulars expression scanning/replacement is
  important, using their output from existing code management systems
  like CVS, GNATS etc. ist important, too and needs the excellent
  design work Olin Shiver did for scsh. I already have parts of a
  regex package going, but Olins clever mapping for the
  port/filedescriptor mapping is quite challenging.

Martin
-- 
%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%%
Martin_Cracauer@wavehh.hanse.de http://cracauer.cons.org  Fax.: +4940 5228536
"As far as I'm concerned,  if something is so complicated that you can't ex-
 plain it in 10 seconds, then it's probably not worth knowing anyway"- Calvin
