Lisp implementation techniques and tools (looking for)

[gjc@mitech.com]

It is not unusual to want to have an interpreted language as a front-end
for intensive numerical computations.

I know of at least one case of a serious physics simulation efforts
at Livemore Labs that uses Scheme as a toplevel for both interactive
and Batch jobs for programs mostly written in C.

Even a casual look at more advanced solution/simulation techniques
for partial differential equations shows a rather heavy use
of LIST STRUCTURE, even if this codes are written in FORTRAN.

But considering what data to have as lists, what to have as arrays,
how much copying to do, compacting, data movement, the impact
of virtual memory or the need to swap data in non-virtual memory
implementations (e.g. the CRAY), this can all get rather hairy,
and you have to connsider the low-level representations in detail.
(Consider the 5-way memory interleave on the CRAY-1).

I'm a proponent  of keeping the initial lisp part of the program
as small and simple as possible, and to allow the lisp/c subroutine
interface be as NATURAL as possible.

My studies indicate that SIOD is better than XLISP, XSCHEME, or ELK
inn these matters. 

Anyone who wants to can consider for themselves: 
Anonymous FTP to BU.EDU, cd to users/gjc and get siod-v2.3-shar.

-gjc