Here is the standard information about PCL. I have also added you to the CommonLoops@Xerox.com mailing list. Portable CommonLoops (PCL) started out as an implementation of CommonLoops written entirely in CommonLisp. It is in the process of being converted to an implementation of CLOS. Currently it implements a only a subset of the CLOS specification. Unfortunately, there is no detailed description of the differences between PCL and the CLOS specification, the source code is often the best documentation. Currently, PCL runs in the following implementations of Common Lisp: EnvOS Medley Symbolics (Release 7.2) Lucid (3.0) ExCL (Franz Allegro 3.0.1) KCL (June 3, 1987) AKCL (1.86, June 30, 1987) Ibuki Common Lisp (01/01, October 15, 1987) TI (Release 4.1) Coral Common Lisp (Allegro 1.2) Golden Common Lisp (3.1) CMU VAXLisp (2.0) HP Common Lisp Pyramid Lisp There are several ways of obtaining a copy of PCL. *** Arpanet Access to PCL *** The primary way of getting PCL is by Arpanet FTP. The files are stored on arisia.xerox.com. You can copy them using anonymous FTP (username "anonymous", password "anonymous"). There are several directories which are of interest: /pcl This directory contains the PCL sources as well as some rudimentary documentation (including this file). All of these files are combined into a single Unix TAR file. The name of this file is "tarfile". Extract the individual files from this tarfile by saying: tar -xf tarfile * where `tarfile' is the name you have given the tarfile in your directory. Once you have done this, the following files are of special interest: readme.text READ IT notes.text contains notes about the current state of PCL, and some instructions for installing PCL at your site. You should read this file whenever you get a new version of PCL. get-pcl.text contains the latest draft of this message /pcl/doc This directory contains TeX source files for the most recent draft of the CLOS specification. There are TeX source files for two documents called concep.tex and functi.tex. These correspond to chapter 1 and 2 of the CLOS specification. /pcl/archive This directory contains the joint archives of two important mailings lists: CommonLoops@Xerox.com is the mailing list for all PCL users. It carries announcements of new releases of PCL, bug reports and fixes, and general advice about how to use PCL and CLOS. Common-Lisp-Object-System@Sail.Stanford.edu is a small mailing list used by the designers of CLOS. The file cloops.text is always the newest of the archive files. The file cloops1.text is the oldest of the archive files. Higher numbered versions are more recent versions of the files. *** Getting PCL on Macintosh floppies *** PCL is listed in APDAlog. It is distributed on Macintosh floppies. This makes it possible for people who don't have FTP access to arisia (but who do have a Macintosh) to get PCL. For $40 you receive a version of PCL and a copy of the CLOS spec (X3J13 document number 88-002R). The APDAlog catalog number is T0259LL/A and you can order by calling: From the U.S. (800)282-2732 From Canada (800)637-0029 International (408)562-3910 FAX (408)562-3971 NOTE: Whenever there is a new release of PCL you want, you should probably wait a couple of months before ordering it from APDAlog. We want to let new PCL's stabilize a bit before sending it to them, and it will take them some time to integrate the new disks into their distribution. *** Using the BITFTP server at Princeton *** For people who can't FTP from Internet (Arpanet) hosts, but who have mail access to the BITNET, there exists a way to get the PCL files using the BITFTP service provided by Princeton Univerity. If you know exactly where to find the files that interest you, this is quite easy. In particular, you have to know: * the Internet host name of the host that maintains the files (such as `arisia.Xerox.COM') * the directory where to find the files, relative to the root of the FTP tree (i.E. `pub') * whether the files are binary or ASCII text. * the names of the files (say `pcl90.tar.Z' and `pcl90.README') To do this, send a message to BITFTP@PUCC (or BITFTP@PUCC.BITNET if you aren't on BITNET itself). The subject line of the message will be ignored. The text (body) of the message should be: FTP arisia.xerox.com UUENCODE CD pcl BINARY GET tarfile QUIT Then you wait (probably for about a day when you are in Europe) and eventually you will receive E-Mail messages from BITFTP@PUCC (or BITFTP2%PUCC...) with subject lines like `uudecoded file tarfile part 13'. Then you have to carefully concatenate the contents of ALL of these files in the correct order. Note: The following works on our Suns and should work on any Berkeley UNIX machine. If you don't have the `compress' or `zcat' program, you can get a free version (with MIT's X Window System distribution, for example). The resulting file can be `uudecode'd like this: dagobert% uudecode name-of-the-assembled-file This will give you a file tarfile.Z (it may actually have a different name; then you may want to rename it in the first place). The `.Z' at the end means that the file you now have is compressed. You can uncompress it with `uncompress tarfile. You can untar the uncompressed file with `tar -xvf tarfile'. This will write all files in the tarfile to the current directory. If you want to know more about the BITFTP service, send a letter to `BITFTP@PUCC' that contains the single line `HELP'. *** Xerox Internet Access to PCL *** Xerox XNS users can get PCL from {NB:PARC:XEROX} Send any comments, bug-reports or suggestions for improvements to: CommonLoops.pa@Xerox.com Send mailing list requests or other administrative stuff to: CommonLoops-Request@Xerox.com Thanks for your interest in PCL. ----------