10nov06abu
(c) Software Lab. Alexander Burger


         Pico Lisp Installation
         ======================

There is no 'configure' procedure, but the Pico Lisp 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.

By default, Pico Lisp installs completely in a local directory. No need to touch
any system locations, so you don't have to be root.


Please follow these steps:

1. Unpack the distribution

   $ tar xfz picoLisp-XXX.tgz

2. Change the directory

   $ cd picoLisp-XXX

3. Compile the Pico Lisp interpreter

   $ (cd src; make picolisp)


         Invocation
         ==========

The shell script 'p' is usually called to start up Pico Lisp, typically with
'dbg.l' to load the interactive debugging environment.

$ ./p dbg.l
:

The colon ':' is Pico's prompt. You may enter some Lisp expression,

: (+ 1 2 3)
-> 6

To exit the interpreter, you may enter

: (bye)

or simply type an empy line (Return).


         Console Underlines
         ==================

In case that your console (terminal) does not support underlining, you might
want to remove or replace the first statement int "ext.l" which uses the
terminfo database to initialize the global variable '*Tsm' (transient symbol
markup). Unfortunately, the VGA text mode does not properly support underlines.


         Documentation
         =============

For further information, please read the Pico Lisp Reference Manual in
'doc/ref.html', the Pico Lisp tutorials in 'doc/tut.html' and 'doc/app.html',
and the frequently asked questions in 'doc/faq.html'.

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), 3D animation
(flight simulator), 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
