Since XLISP-PLUS is based on XLISP, most XLISP programs will run on XLISP-PLUS. Since XLISP-PLUS incorporates many more features of Common Lisp, many small Common Lisp applications will run on XLISP-PLUS with little modification. See the section starting on page 95 for details of the differences between XLISP and XLISP-PLUS.
Many Common Lisp functions are built into XLISP-PLUS. In addition, XLISP defines the objects 'Object' and 'Class' as primitives. 'Object' is the only class that has no superclass and hence is the root of the class heirarchy tree. 'Class' is the class of which all classes are instances (it is the only object that is an instance of itself).
This document is a brief description of XLISP-PLUS. It assumes some knowledge of LISP and some understanding of the concepts of object-oriented programming.
You will probably also need a copy of "Common Lisp: The Language" by Guy L. Steele, Jr., published by Digital Press to use as a reference for some of the Common Lisp functions that are described only briefly in this document.
XLISP-PLUS has a number of compilation options to to eliminate groups of functions and to tailor itself to various environments. Unless otherwise indicated this manual assumes all options are enabled and the system dependent code is as complete as that provided for the MS/DOS environment. Assistance for using or porting XLISP-PLUS can be obtained on the USENET newsgroup comp.lang.lisp.x, or by writing to Tom Almy at the Internet address tom.almy@tek.com. You can also reach Tom by writing to him at 17830 SW Shasta Trail, Tualatin, OR 97062, USA.