[Openmcl-devel] About Contribs

[Glen Foy]

I appreciate the suggestions and positive comments and would like to  
say a few general things about our user contributions:

They are a great way to get some exercise using Cocoa, Hemlock and  
CCL.  If you are still learning these systems, like I am, there's  
nothing like a small to medium sized project to get you going.

They are fun to write, especially if they are programming tools.  In  
the work we do, we rarely get to use the programs we write, once they  
are finished.  Not so with programming tools.  You get to use them  
every day.

They increase the utility of our favorite tool and free up Clozure  
resources for other things.  Clozure doesn't pay the rent by giving us  
this tool for free.  In the ideal situation they could concentrate on  
core resources, and we would provide everything else.

They are a great resource for new users.  Most of us are familiar with  
the enormous MCL collection -- hundreds of contributions, big ones,  
small ones, serious ones, frivolous ones.  They are all great and one  
of the very best ways to learn Lisp and a new Lisp system.  There is  
nothing like working with actual code.

The MCL contribs directory is also a great source for ideas.  Pick one  
that you like and port it to CCL, adding your own improvements and  
embellishments.  Are the MCL contribs available online?  If not,   
maybe someone could make them available.


So, I'm giving everyone a homework assignment :--)

Pick a project.  Write a prototype and announce it to the list.   
Prototypes are best.  There is a wealth of experience and expertise on  
this list.  The suggestions you receive will greatly improve the final  
product.  By next year we could have several hundred contributions.