Lisp code sharing (was Lisp vs. C, questions about XL3600, et al)

[s9274%srl1@LANL.GOV]

     A success of C and UNIX is the ability to share many readily
     available, and often free, programs.  Even if Lisp is a vastly
     better vehicle for sharing (the promise of common lisp), the Lisp
     community (vendors) has failed to develop effective infrastructure
     for code sharing.  Developing this infrastructure would make Lisp
     much more popular. 

Sharing of code is ostensibly one of the reasons SLUG exists. A quick
glance at the SLUG library, however, shows that only a few systems of
any real significance (e.g., LaTeX) have been contributed. People
developing Lisp software, it seems, tend to want to make money off their
software rather than to give them away.

     Of course, this would be facilitated by a common lisp standards for
     system definition...

This may help, but you still must consider the corporate greed factor.
Many C programmers work on their own time in their own homes and
contribute software either from altruistic motives or from a desire for
recognition.

John Krieger
Westinghouse Savannah River Company
s9274@srl1.lanl.gov