| Abstract: | The programming language LISP is usually implemented via an interpreter, and a compiler is added later as a LISP program. However, all such production compilers known to the authors produce explicit instructions for the given computer being used. This paper describes the development of a portable LISP compiler in the sense that only Standard LISP functions are used in its definition and the output is a sequence of abstract machine codes, easily mapped to instruction sequences on current computers. The resulting code is quite efficient, demonstrating once again the maxim that most compiler optimization is largely machine independent. |
