SYSTEM REQUIREMENTS Currently, this software is distributed for: - Windows on Intel x86 machines (native IA32 backend) - Linux on Intel x86 machines (native IA32 and C backends) - Mac OS X (>= 10.4) on Intel x86 machines (native IA32 backend) - Mac OS X (>= 10.2) on PowerPC machines (C backend) - Solaris on SPARC machines (native SPARC and C backends) The current version of Larceny always runs in 32-bit mode, but the native varieties of Larceny are known to work on 64-bit SPARC and x86-64 hardware. A binary distribution of Larceny will occupy about 25 megabytes of disk when unpacked. A source distribution of Larceny will expand to almost 200 megabytes as it is built. "Petit Larceny" is used throughout Larceny's documentation to refer to all varieties other than Common Larceny and the SPARC and IA32 native backends [1]. (If you intend to use Common Larceny, see the Common Larceny user's manual [2].) WHAT YOU NEED Native (SPARC, IA32): everything should work out of the box. Petit Larceny (Solaris, Linux, Mac OS X): ensure that the GNU C Compiler (gcc) is in your execution path. (If you are building from source, see doc/HOWTO-BUILD.) Mac OS X: Use Apple's Developer Tools, http://developer.apple.com/ After gcc is in your execution path, you should install the R6RS runtime and standard libraries by performing step 4 of the process described in doc/HOWTO-BUILD. QUICK START Solaris, Linux, and Mac OS X: - Run % ./larceny Win32: - Run > larceny EXECUTION MODES R5RS traditional read/eval/print loop (the default) ERR5RS see doc/HOWTO-ERR5RS R6RS see doc/HOWTO-R6RS Scheme script see doc/HOWTO-SCRIPT The precompiled distributions of native Larceny should work out of the box in all four modes, but the ERR5RS, R6RS, and Scheme script modes will not work in Petit Larceny until you have performed step 4 of the process described in doc/HOWTO-BUILD. COMPILING SCHEME SOURCE WITH LARCENY Native versions of Larceny compile all definitions and most expressions to machine code as they are typed or loaded. Programs will load faster if precompiled; in Petit Larceny, the precompiled programs will also run much faster. To precompile files that contain R5RS Scheme code: - (compile-file []) (compile-file "source.sch") compiles "source.sch", leaving the compiled code in "source.fasl" (compile-file "source.sch" "target.fasl") compiles "source.sch", leaving the compiled code in "target.fasl" - (load "target.fasl") loads the compiled code in "target.fasl" To precompile ERR5RS/R6RS libraries, top-level programs, and Scheme scripts, use the compile-stale Scheme script that is in Larceny's root directory. Please see the Larceny User Manual [3] for details. FURTHER READING If you want to install Larceny for other users on your system, see doc/HOWTO-INSTALL. To build your own Larceny, take a look at doc/HOWTO-BUILD. To build Common Larceny, see the Common Larceny documentation in doc/CommonLarceny/user-manual.txt. Most importantly, see the Larceny user manual in doc/UserManual. The most recent version of the user manual is autobuilt daily and is online at http://larceny.ccs.neu.edu/doc/ NOTES [1] You may be able to make Petit Larceny work on other platforms (e.g. Linux/PowerPC or Solaris/IA32 with the C backend) but we do not yet offer support for those systems. [2] http://www.ccs.neu.edu/home/will/Larceny/CommonLarceny/user-manual.html [3] See doc/UserManual or http://larceny.ccs.neu.edu/doc/