I have finally implemented in Sly a pass to convert the code to Continuation-passing style (CPS), after reading an interesting article by Matt Might. I was not satisfied with the conversion algorithms I saw previously, but the “hybrid CPS conversion” is what I was really looking for. No extra β- or η-redexes are inserted during [...]
At this moment the groups that will bring us the seventh revision of the report on the algorithmic language Scheme (R7RS), which is going to be split in two, are being formed. I just hope that they keep in mind that even the gods will fear us if they succeed at producing a report (or [...]
I guess it is clear by now that I am writing a toy Scheme compiler and virtual machine. Primarily for learning the techniques, I just touch it from time to time. The last addition to the virtual machine was a Cheney-style copy garbage collector. I wanted to implement a very simple algorithm to get a [...]
The voter registration period for the Scheme Steering Comittee is over. I thought I could then post my statement of interest: I have been using Scheme for almost four years now. I use it mostly for studying programming languages and programming in general, prototyping and testing new ideas, but I have also developed and sold [...]
Following my previous Scheme toy interpreter in Lua, I have already tried twice to write a simple Scheme compiler. I failed mostly because the complexity grew too fast and I could not see any of it working before losing interest. But I then read Ghuloum’s paper on incremental compiler construction. It’s a very nice approach, [...]
By this point I believe it’s clear that I am a big fan of Scheme. Lately I have seen a sharp rise of interest in Ruby in some virtual places I attend (#lisp-br, twitter, IM with coworkers etc.). I am sure Ruby is a fine language, even in spite of several complaints I hear from [...]
Meroon is a Scheme object system by Christian Queinnec. It is portable, fast, CLOS-like and reflexive. The Meroon home page cites versions for several popular Scheme systems, including Gambit-C. But the links to the Gambit-C version are broken. Doing a bit of research, that actually involved some guessing, I found the Meroon Gambit-C port in [...]
I have found a very interesting thread in the Gambit-C Scheme mailing list. Marc Feeley tries to dismiss the myth that floating-point calculations are inherently faster in C/C++ than in Scheme, which is taken as common wisdom. The the work of Bradley Lucier is cited as a case of very fast numerical Scheme code. Bradley [...]
As part of my Lisp studies, I have implemented a toy Scheme interpreter in roughly 1000 lines of Lua. It is here. It supports tail-call optimisation, lexical scope for closures, and first-class continuations via call/cc. I have departed from the traditional approach of implementing a Scheme interpreter in Scheme itself because I wanted to avoid [...]
I am currently reading the third chapter of Lisp in Small Pieces. It is really a wonderful book. By teaching how to implement Lisp, it teaches a lot about using the language too. Moreover, reading it sometimes I feel the urge that almost every Schemer has at one time or another felt: The urge to [...]