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(c) Software Lab. Alexander Burger


         PicoLisp Installation
         =====================

There is no 'configure' procedure, but the PicoLisp file structure is simple
enough to get along without it (we hope). It should compile and run on
GNU/Linux, FreeBSD, Mac OS X (Darwin), Cygwin/Win32, and possibly other systems
without problems.

PicoLisp supports two installation strategies: Local and Global.

The default (if you just download, unpack and compile the release) is a local
installation. It will not interfere in any way with the world outside its
directory. There is no need to touch any system locations, and you don't have to
be root to install it. Many different versions - or local modifications - of
PicoLisp can co-exist on a single machine.

For a global installation, allowing system-wide access to the executable and
library/documentation files, you can either install it from a ready-made
distribution, or set some symbolic links to one of the local installation
directories as described below.

Note that you are still free to have local installations along with a global
installation, and invoke them explicitly as desired.


      Local Installation
      ------------------

1. Unpack the distribution

      $ tar xfz picoLisp-XXX.tgz

2. Change the directory

      $ cd picoLisp-XXX

3. Compile the PicoLisp interpreter

      $ (cd src; make)

   or - if you have an x86-64 system (under Linux, FreeBSD or SunOS), or a ppc64
   system (under Linux) - build the 64-bit version

      $ (cd src64; make)

   To use the 64-bit version also on systems which are not natively supported,
   you can build the emulator

      $ (cd src64; make emu)

   Note that the emulator's execution speed is 10 to 20 times slower than the
   native versions.

   In all three cases (32-bits, 64-bits, or emulator), the executable
   bin/picolisp will be created.


   To build the 64-bit version the first time (bootstrapping), you have the
   following three options:

   - If a Java runtime system (version 1.6 or higher) is installed, it will
     build right out of the box.

   - Otherwise, download one of the pre-generated "*.s" file packages

     - http://software-lab.de/x86-64.linux.tgz
     - http://software-lab.de/x86-64.freeBsd.tgz
     - http://software-lab.de/x86-64.sunOs.tgz
     - http://software-lab.de/ppc64.linux.tgz

   - Else, build a 32-bit version first, and use the resulting bin/picolisp to
     generate the "*.s" files:

      $ (cd src; make)
      $ (cd src64; make x86-64.linux)

   After that, the 64-bit binary can be used to rebuild itself.


   Note that on the BSD family of operating systems, 'gmake' must be used
   instead of 'make'.


      Global Installation
      -------------------

The recommended way for a global installation is to use a picolisp package from
the OS distribution.

If that is not available, you can (as root) create symbolic links from /usr/lib
and /usr/bin to a local installation directory:

   # ln -s /<installdir> /usr/lib/picolisp
   # ln -s /usr/lib/picolisp/bin/picolisp /usr/bin
   # ln -s /usr/lib/picolisp/bin/pil /usr/bin

For additional access to the man pages and some examples:

   # ln -s /<installdir>/man/man1/picolisp.1 /usr/share/man/man1
   # ln -s /<installdir>/man/man1/pil.1 /usr/share/man/man1
   # ln -s /<installdir> /usr/share/picolisp


      Invocation
      ----------

In a global installation, the 'pil' command should be used. You can either start
in plain or in debug mode. The difference is that for debug mode the command is
followed by single plus ('+') sign. The '+' must be the very last argument on
the command line.

   $ pil       # Plain mode
   :

   $ pil +     # Debug mode
   :

In both cases, the colon ':' is PicoLisp's prompt. You may enter some Lisp
expression,

   : (+ 1 2 3)
   -> 6

To exit the interpreter, enter

   : (bye)

or just type Ctrl-D.


For a local invocation, specify a path name, e.g.

   $ ./pil     # Plain mode
   :

   $ ./pil +   # Debug mode
   :

or

   $ /home/app/pil  # Invoking a local installation from some other directory

Note that 'pil' can also serve as a template for your own stand-alone scripts.


If you just want to test the ready-to-run Ersatz PicoLisp (it needs a Java
runtime system), use

   $ ersatz/pil +
   :

instead of './pil +'.


      Documentation
      -------------

For further information, please look at "doc/index.html". There you find the
PicoLisp Reference Manual ("doc/ref.html"), the PicoLisp tutorials
("doc/tut.html", "doc/app.html", "doc/select.html" and "doc/native.html"), and
the frequently asked questions ("doc/faq.html").

For details about the 64-bit version, refer to "doc64/README", "doc64/asm" and
"doc64/structures".

As always, the most accurate and complete documentation is the source code ;-)
Included in the distribution are many utilities and pet projects, including
tests, demo databases and servers, games (chess, minesweeper), and more.

Any feedback is welcome!
Hope you enjoy :-)

--------------------------------------------------------------------------------

   Alexander Burger
   Software Lab. / 7fach GmbH
   Bahnhofstr. 24a, D-86462 Langweid
   abu@software-lab.de, http://www.software-lab.de, +49 8230 5060