Back in the day, programming languages were considered a systems concern. These days a lot of PL research is done in a vacuum, with abstract models and stand-alone prototypes. But programming languages rise and fall by their applications, and the deployment of a language always involves interesting and non-trivial systems challenges.
The PLT group has done a ton of work in this area. A decade ago, Matthew, Robby, Shriram and Matthias wrote an ICFP paper on Programming Languages as Operating Systems, sketching a few of the highlights of the PLT virtual machine. They focused on MrEd, the GUI engine. But taking a step back, there are many more systems-y facilities in PLT Scheme than just the UI infrastructure. And of course, that paper is a decade old and beginning to show its age.
I'm planning to write a series of posts on some of the myriad systems facilities in PLT Scheme and how they fit together.
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2 comments:
That sounds great.
You've definitely got my attention - can't wait to see what you have to say on the topic.
-Ben
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