Best Lisp pkg for graphics

[Steve Strassmann <straz@media-lab.media.mit.edu>]

    From: jdavis@hri.com
    I have a question that I would like your opinions.
    Specifically, I am looking for the "best" CL-based
    graphics package, which provides the following:

Well, I've checked out about 8 different such packages, and none of
them are quite what I need (i.e. I can't get them up and running on my
system, or they have some serious shortcomings). Please feel free to
let me know about any corrections or omissions.

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These are my notes on the various X/lisp toolkits. Any opinions
expressed (especially the "rating") are purely my own, and in no way
should be taken as gospel.  Some of this info is out of date, so
please double-check the facts before counting on them. As far as I can
tell, all of these are intended to run under most unix implementations
of Common Lisp.


CLX       Provides basic Commonlisp/X functionality. Possibly too low-level
          for easy creation of user-interfaces, but most other kits
          described below are built on top of CLX.
          Available: free, part of standard X release, in contrib dir.
          Bug reports: bug-clx@expo.lcs.mit.edu
          Latest version: 4.2
          Rating: Stable, seems mature, low-level

CLIM      Commonlisp Interface Manager, developed by 
          International Lisp Associates. Broad scope,
          intended to support porting applications across
          most window systems, including X, Genera, 
          (maybe Mac and Microsoft Windows too?)
          contact: ILA, 617-576-1151, Cambridge, MA.
                   or doughty@fuji.ila.dialnet.symbolics.com
          Rating: language seems stable and well-designed, but
          I haven't gotten a beta copy yet.

CLUE      Common Lisp User Interface Environment
          from TI, extends CLX
          Available: free, based on CLX and PCL, runs on X11
          Anonymous ftp from CSC.TI.COM, (10.7.0.46) in pub/clue.tar.Z. 
          bug reports: clue-bugs@dsg.csc.ti.com
          author: Kerry Kimbrough <Kimbrough@dsg.csc.ti.com>
          Latest version: 7.1
          Rating: Seems to be popular, I couldn't get it to compile

CLM/GINA  CLM uses CLX and Motif; 
          Gina (Generic Interactive Application) is built over CLM and CLOS.
          Available: free, part of standard X release, in contrib dir.
          contact: Andreas Baecker (gmdzi!baecker@uunet.uu.net)
          GMD (Gesellschaft fuer Mathemathik und Datenverarbeitung mbH)
              (The German National Research Center for Computer Science)
          Schloss Birlinghoven, D-5205 Sankt Augustin 1, West Germany
          phone: (022 41) 14 20 78
          Latest version: 1.0.0 (CLM), Alpha (GINA)
          Rating: not evaluated yet

EW        Express Windows
          Intended to mimic Symbolics' Dynamic Windows
          based on CLX and PCL, runs on X11
          contact: express-windows-request@atc.boeing.com
          users group: express-windows@atc.boeing.com
          Liszt Programming, Inc., PO Box 15447, Arlington VA. 22215, 
          (301) 643-4526.

Garnet    Large system providing rapid and flexible design of UI
          Includes constraints, object-oriented, doesn't use PCL.
          Developed at CMU, depends on CLX, runs on X11
          Possibly will be ported to Mac?
          Available: free, ftp after signing copyright agreement
          contact: Brad Myers (bam@a.gp.cs.cmu.edu)
          users group: garnet-users@cs.cmu.edu
          bug reports: garnet@cs.cmu.edu
          Rating: lots of high-level features

SOLO      Not generally available yet. Written at Sun.
          Doesn't use CLX, directly converts Xlib.h into lucid foreign
          calls. Intended to be small, fast, tight. Uses CLOS.
          Contact: rmori@Eng.Sun.COM (Robert Mori)
          Written by: Hans Muller (hmuller@sun.com)

winterp   Widget Interpreter
          Developed at HP, uses Motif, runs on X11
          Runs partly in separate XLisp process (XLisp is a public
          domain Lisp unrelated to X windows)
          Available: free, part of standard X release, in contrib dir.
          contact: Niels Mayer  mayer@hplabs.hp.com, HP, Palo Alto,CA.
          users group: winterp@hplnpm.hpl.hp.com

YYonX     Port of the YY system to X windows,
          Developed at Aoyama Gakuin University, runs on X11
           (and possibly Genera too). Supports kanji.
          Available: free, 
          Anonymous FTP from ftp.csrl.aoyama.ac.jp (133.2.1.5), cd YY
          users group: yyonx@csrl.aoyama.ac.jp
          contact: yyonx-request@csrl.aoyama.ac.jp for requests
          author: Masayuki Ida, ida@cc.aoyama.ac.jp
          Computer Science Research Lab, Aoyama Gakuin University
          Latest version: 1.0 alpha