Installing and Configuring Algernon 3.0
Compatible LISP environments
Algernon has been tested and run in the following environments:
Algernon-compatible LISP environments.
Hardware |
Operating System |
LISP version |
Sun |
Solaris (SunOS 5.5) |
Allegro CL v4.3, v4.3.1, v5.0 |
IBM RS6000 |
AIX 3.2 |
Allegro CL v4.3 |
Pentium Box |
Linux Red Hat 4.0 |
Allegro CL v4.3 for Linux |
Pentium Box |
Windows 95 |
Allegro CL v4.3 Lite |
DEC Alpha |
? |
Harlequin LISP |
Sun |
Solaris (SunOS 5.5) |
GCL v2.2.1 |
Pentium Box |
Linux (version?) |
GCL (version?) |
Macintosh |
MacOS 7.5.5 |
MCL 3.0 |
Sun |
SunOS 4.1.3 |
Allegro CL v4.2 (obsolete) |
Sun |
SunOS 4.1.3 |
Lucid Common LISP 4.1 (obsolete) |
Configuration files
The values of global variables specific to a certain LISP environment
are stored in files named "cfg-xxxx-yyyy" in the config/
subdirectory. The string "xxxx" is replaced by the hardware/OS type
and the string "yyyy" is replaced by the LISP version.
When the base file, "algy.lisp", is loaded, it loads the correct
configuration file based on the value of the *features* variable.
The necessary features are automatically set by LISP when it starts running.
For example, when we run Algernon on a Sun in Allegro CL 5.0, the code
in "algy.lisp" loads the file "cfg-SUN-ALLEGRO-5-0.lisp". This file
defines several configuration-specific variables:
- *ROOT-DIR*
- *BIN-DIR*
- *LISP-FILE-EXTENSION*
- *OBJECT-FILE-EXTENSION*
- *PATH-TERMINATOR*
- *KB-INTERFACE*
- *JAVA-CLASSPATH* (when used with the Amaze GUI)
To configure Algernon for a new machine, operating system or version of LISP,
do the following:
- Create a new configuration file and place it in the "config/" directory.
- Edit "algy.lisp" to load the new config file when the appropriate LISP features are defined.
Binary files
Binary files for a specific configuration are usually stored in an
appropriately-named subdirectory under the "bins/" directory.
This is necessary when Algernon is being run in several versions of LISP
at the same site. However, in a home PC environment with just one version
of LISP available, the user may wish to store binary files in the "src/" directory.
[Algernon documentation home]
This page was created by
Micheal Hewett