Modern Medley Interlisp can read and write files where 16 bit character codes are represented as UTF-8 byte sequences or UTF-16 byte-pairs, and convert from and to Unicode codes to equivalent internal Medley codes. For details see:
files.interlisp.org/medley/libra...
#interlisp #lisp #unicode
This 1986 paper reported on various extensions and forms of collaboration for the NoteCards hypertext-based idea structuring system. Written in Interlisp, NoteCards was initially a single user system.
dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1...
dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1...
#interlisp #hypertext #retrocomputing
In the late 1970s Interlisp was ported to DEC VAX computers under Berkeley Unix. These papers reported on the project and its challenges.
softwarepreservation.computerhistory.org/LISP/interli...
dl.acm.org/doi/pdf/10.1...
#interlisp #dec #vax #lisp #retrocomputing
To try out the bitmap editor of Medley Interlisp evaluate (EDITBM (CURSOSRBITMAP)) which edits the bitmap of the mouse pointer. Middle-click the top gray area and select Abort to exit with no changes, otherwise OK.
To learn how to use the tool see:
interlisp.org/documentatio...
#interlisp #lisp
Written since the 1980s for Interlisp-D, LFG Grammar Writer's Workbench is a graphical platform for linguistic research within the Lexical Functional Grammars theoretical framework.
www.researchgate.net/profile/John...
#interlisp #lisp #linguistics #retrocomputing
We sincerely thank our donors and remind that the Medley Interlisp Project accepts donations, which may be tax-deductible. For more details see:
interlisp.org/project/donate
#interlisp #lisp
Interlisp has something "ugly" and "horrible": data for which READ is not an inverse of PRINT (ugly) or that cannot normally be dumped and loaded easily (horrible).
interlisp.org/documentatio...
interlisp.org/documentatio...
#interlisp #lisp
The FAQ of Medley Interlisp answers some basic questions on using the system such as whether clipboard support is available, how to get online help, large displays, and more.
interlisp.org/project/faqs
#interlisp #lisp
This 1984 paper introduced the basic ideas of programming with objects in various languages with examples from LOOPS, the Lisp Object-Oriented Programming System of Interlisp.
ojs.aaai.org/aimagazine/i...
ojs.aaai.org/aimagazine/i...
#OOP #interlisp #retrocomputing
Screenshot of the black and white desktop of a 1980s graphical workstation environment. The desktop has a grey background pattern and some windows with a white background and a title bar with white text on a black background. The main window shows the online documentation of the Lisp function APPEND.
To consult the Medley Interlisp documentation execute MAN <query> at the Lisp prompt where <query> is the name of a Lisp function, form, topic, or library module. Try:
MAN APPEND
MAN WINDOWS
MAN FILEBROWSER
MAN PACMAN
#interlisp #lisp
Gacha, the default font of Medley Interlisp, was one of the original fonts of the Xerox Alto workstation at PARC.
bitsavers.trailing-edge.com/pdf/xerox/al...
www.bitsavers.org/pdf/xerox/al...
#interlisp #fonts #retrocomputing
Screenshot of a portion of the black and white desktop of a 1980s graphical workstation environment. The desktop has a grey background pattern and one window with a white background and a title bar with white text on a black background. The window shows a graph laid down horizontally of an object-oriented class hierarchy rooted at a class called Tofu.
The highest class of the LOOPS hierarchy is called Tofu, an acronym for "Top of the universe". The Lisp Object-Oriented Programming System (LOOPS) is the object extension of Interlisp.
#oop #interlisp #lisp
What strategies can be employed to describe a problem and converge on an appropriate hypertext representation? This 1987 paper explored such representation issues with NoteCards, the hypermedia system written in Interlisp.
dl.acm.org/doi/abs/10.1...
#hypertext #NoteCards #interlisp #retrocomputing
Modern Medley Interlisp provides support for the system clipboard as described in the linked documentation page.
The Meta key is usually the Alt key or equivalent on modern systems. Clipboard support requires the xclip program on Linux.
files.interlisp.org/medley/libra...
#interlisp #lisp
Screenshot of the black and white desktop of a 1980s graphical workstation environment. The desktop has a grey background pattern and some windows with a white background and a title bar with white text on a black background. The main window is a VT100 terminal emulator running the Lynx web browser on Linux open on the site https://interlisp.org At the left of the terminal is a window showing a virtual VT100 keypad.
Visiting interlisp.org with the Lynx web browser on Medley Interlisp. The main window is a VT100 terminal emulator running Lynx on the host operating system, Linux in this case. The smaller window next to the terminal is a VT100 keypad.
#interlisp #LynxBrowser #lisp
Should
(= 3/4 0.75) return true (or 't)? You'd think so.
#SBCL 2.5.2 does think so.
MIT/GNU Scheme also thinks so.
#Interlisp Medley agrees.
I think this is correct behaviour.
#Clojure 1.12.1 disagrees; and I can understand why, since conversion between rationals and IEEE 754 floats is not […]
The original documentation and literature of Interlisp-D used the verb "to button" like today we say "to click", i.e. meaning to press a mouse button.
#interlisp #retrocomputing
The manual of EMYCIN, a rare document published in 1981, is now available at Bitsavers. Developed in Interlisp at Stanford University, the EMYCIN expert system shell was derived from the early expert system MYCIN.
bitsavers.org/pdf/stanford...
#ai #ExpertSystem #interlisp #retrocomputing
We posted the manual of Medley Interlisp for MS-DOS originally published in 1993:
github.com/Interlisp/DO...
To run Medley for MS-DOS on DOSBox-X and QEMU see:
github.com/orgs/Interli...
github.com/Interlisp/me...
1/2
#interlisp #msdos #retrocomputing
Screenshot of a portion of the black and white desktop of a 1980s graphical workstation environment. The desktop has a grey background pattern and two windows with a white background and a title bar with white text on a black background. The bottom window is a Lisp REPL where the following expressions are evaluated, output printed, and values returned: 2/4_ (SETQ LIST.STRUCTURE (LIST 1 2 3 4 5)) (1 2 3 4 5) 2/5_ (ED 'LIST.STRUCTURE) Editing VARS definition of LIST.STRUCTURE. LIST.STRUCTURE 2/6_ LIST.STRUCTURE (1 2 3 (A B C) 4 5) The top window is an editor that shows a Lisp list structure modified by the above call to the ED function.
The SEdit structure editor of Medley Interlisp lets you also modify arbitrary list structures and data, not just Lisp code. In this example the ED function calls SEdit and returns the modified object.
#interlisp #lisp
We posted the manuals of the TEdit WYSIWYG editor and the Sketch drawing program of Medley Interlisp. Although originally published in 1987, most of the material still aplies to modern Medley.
files.interlisp.org/medley/libra...
files.interlisp.org/medley/libra...
#interlisp #lisp #retrocomputing
Interlisp-D releases were named after words related to music starting with successive letters such as Carol, Fugue, Harmony, Intermezzo, Koto, and Lyric. Medley was the last before work on the system petered out in the 1990s.
#interlisp #lisp #retrocomputing
Our 2025 annual presents the work we did last year to revive Medley Interlisp and its ecosystem. We would appreciate it if you could share the report, which may be of interest to potential users and other software preservation projects.
#interlisp #lisp #retrocomputing
In 1985 Xerox announced support for Prolog on its workstations and awarded development to Quintus for Xerox Quintus Prolog for Interlisp-D.
www.bitsavers.org/pdf/xerox/in...
softwarepreservation.computerhistory.org/prolog/#Quin...
#ai #prolog #interlisp #retrocomputing
We published the latest Medley Interlisp Annual Report, a summary of the work of 2025. Last year marked the fifth anniversary of the project and the report was an opportunity to reflect on what we achieved.
interlisp.org/project/stat...
#interlisp #lisp #retrocomputing
ILsee is a Common Lisp GUI tool for viewing Interlisp source files.
journal.paoloamoroso.com/an-interlisp...
#interlisp #CommonLisp #lisp #McCLIM
The 1984 episode of Computer Chronicles on Artificial Intelligence also featured a demonstration of Dipmeter Advisor, an oil drilling expert system for Interlisp-D.
#ai #interlisp #ExpertSystem #retrocomputing
The 1984 Artificial Intelligence episode of the Computer Chronicles show featured demonstrations of some Interlisp applications: the ONCOCIN expert system and the Knowledge Engineering Environment expert system shell.
www.youtube.com/watch?v=_S3m...
#ai #interlisp #ExpertSystem #retrocomputing
Yesterday was down a rabbit hole where I wanted a Dynabook-like device, running a living environment like Squeak/Smalltalk + Interlisp with a look and feel like Picotron. Want this to exist.
#picotron #dynabook #interlisp
Screenshot of a portion of the black and white desktop of a 1980s graphical workstation environment. The desktop has a grey background pattern and one window with a white background and a title bar with white text on a black background. The window is a Lisp REPL where the following expressions are evaluated, output printed, and values returned: 2/5_ (SETQ STACK '()) NIL 2/6_ (PUSH STACK 1) (1) 2/7_ (PUSH STACK 2) (2 1) 2/8_ (PUSH STACK 3) (3 2 1) 2/9_ (PUSH STACK 4) (4 3 2 1) 2/10_ (PUSH STACK 5) (5 4 3 2 1) 2/11_ (POP STACK) 5 2/12_ (POP STACK) 4 2/13_ STACK (3 2 1)
In Interlisp PUSH and POP manipulate stacks represented as lists and work like the corresponding Common Lisp macros, but PUSH swaps the order of the arguments.
interlisp.org/documentatio...
#interlisp #CommonLisp #lisp
