Object Lisp vs CLOS in BYTE (Jan 88)

[Jon L White <edsel!jonl@labrea.Stanford.EDU>]

In the current issue of BYTE magazine, there is a review of Allegro
Common Lisp [the Coral/Franz collusion for the MacIntosh].

Although the reviewer isn't a Lisp Wizard (he says things like "The 
compiler uses tail recursion to minimize stack space." where he 
probably should have said "tail recursion elimination"), still he seems 
to have the knowledge level of an AI user.  He goes on at length about 
how the CLOS specification isn't complete yet, and how Object LISP is 
offered instead.  He knows enough to compare CLOS with "Xerox CommonLoops" 
and Symbolics "New Flavors".

But he praises Object LISP to a large degree:
  "However, Object LISP is an interesting way to implement objects
   in Common LISP.  I particularly like the way it places classes
   and instances on the same level.  It has always seemed artificial
   to be able to create objects only as instances of already existing 
   classes. . . . 
   I would like Object LISP to be included with Allegro CL wven when
   CLOS becomes available. . . ."

This looks like a case for cleaning up the documentation relating
CLOS to "delagation" type systems.


-- JonL --