CLIM mail archive

[Prev][Next][Index][Thread]

Using Processes in CLIM



    Date: Thu, 28 Mar 1991 15:33 EST
    From: "David C. P. Linden" <DCPL@fuji.ila.com>

	Date: Mon, 25 Mar 1991 10:31-0500
	From: Mark Nahabedian <naha@yukon.scrc.symbolics.com>

	    Date: Fri, 22 Mar 1991 20:27 EST
	    From: will taylor <taylor@charon.arc.nasa.gov>

	    In  Symbolics early release 1.0 CLIM the following functions/macros
	    are in the clim-utils package:

	    make-process
	    processp 
	    destroy-process 
	    current-process 
	    all-processes
	    show-processes 
	    process-yield 
	    process-wait 
	    process-wait-with-timeout

	    They are not exported/documented.  Will they be exported/documented
	    for the released version of 1.0 CLIM?  If not, how will CLIM handle
	    processes in a portable way?

	    ==> Will

	Multiple processes have nothing to do with user interface and are not
	treated by CLIM.

	I believe that Common Lisp does not consider processes in any way.  I
	guess it was felt that processes are, to a large extent, a system
	facility which is not sufficiently standardized across all platforms.
	Any features concerning processes were therefore left as vendor
	extensions.

    Indeed, Common Lisp doesn't try to specify how processes might work.
    There is a growing body of users that would like it to.  CLIM is one of
    those "users" and to that effect CLIM has the set of functions/macros
    you mentioned.  Currently, CLIM defines it only for its own use, which
    is why they aren't exported nor documented.  There is an open discussion
    in the CLIM 2 specification process of whether and/or how CLIM should
    advertise the various "extensions" it adds to Common Lisp for its own
    use.

    If you have favorites, now might be a good time to put in your votes.

In the large, I agree with DCPL.  A more concrete thing to do, rather
than simply "putting in [our] votes", would be for someone to look at
Genera, CLOE, Lucid, Franz, and Harlequin to determine what their
respective support for processes is, and then to define the handful of
functions that portably support a useful process metaphor.  (If I were
allowed to volunteer someone to do this, it would be DCPL.)

0,,

References:

Main Index | Thread Index