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Mr. Robert Hance, National Sales Manager
California Computer Systems
Marketing Department
250 Caribbean Drive
Sunnyvale, CA 94086

Dear Bob:

I enjoyed tallking with  you Friday, and am  enclosing a collection of  material
about TLC-LISP and my plans for LISP in general.

Those things involve:

⊗ Competition in the LISP market. 

⊗ TLC-LISP in a learning environment: the spring SCU course and the summer Western 
  Institute in Computer Science course.

⊗ The Commercialization of AI and TLC-LISP: Applications of the existing Z-80 LISP 
  in single and multi-bank configurations.

⊗ The Future: An extended TLC-LISP for the 16-32bit machines.




			  Smalltalk, LOGO, and LISP   

First, direct competition  with TLC-LISP  in the micro  LISP market  is easy  to
discuss: it's poor. The only micro LISP used by the professional LISP  community
is TLC-LISP: MIT, BBN, and the Air  Force and Navy, all have projects  utilizing
TLC-LISP. My difficulty is  a non-existent marketing  effort; current sales  are
mainly the result of word-of-mouth contacts. TLC-LISP is a sub-set of the latest
LISP developments at MIT; other micro LISPs are either variants of the  original
LISP1.5 (1959) or LISP1.6  (written by me  in 1965). Both  of these efforts  are
substantially out-of-date.   So, given  marketing support  and the  testimonials
from the current TLC-users, TLC-LISP would demolish the competition.  What other
languages are contenders for the LISP view of computing? Smalltalk and LOGO.

Last  September,  Xerox   announced  the   release  of   Smalltalk-80  to   five
manufacturers, beginning efforts to bring  the Smalltalk family of languages  to
the mass market.  Smalltalk's major attractions  to the user  are: (1) a  highly
effective graphical user  interface, and (2)  a user-oriented programming  style
called "object-oriented programming". These two characteristics combine to  give
Smalltalk users a  flexible medium  (almost "non-programming"  medium) in  which
they can pose their problems.   Problem  domains range  from animation to office
automation.  The effect of Smalltalk is expected to be massive.

LOGO, as  described  in  Seymour  Papert's  new  book  "Mindstorms:   Computers,
Children, and  Powerful Ideas",  has been  an exceptional  vehicle for  teaching
primary-grade students "how to think".  LOGO is Smalltalk's immediate parent. It
was developed at MIT  in the late  1960's, introducing the  idea of the  "turtle
graphics", and implementing the  rudiments of object-oriented programming;  both
hallmarks of  Smalltalk.  So  LOGO  offers a  direct  counter to  the  Smalltalk
challenge.   However,  it  is  limited  in  scope,  addressing  itself  to   the
educational domain rather  than commercial  quality applications.   LISP can  do
better than either LOGO or Smalltalk.

The appropirate view is to consider LISP as a "high-level" assembly language for
describing complex  problems.  In  this  view,  then,  Smalltalk  and  LOGO  can
accurately be described as higher level languages which could be  implemented in
LISP. Indeed, many versions of LOGO (including the original one) are implemented
in LISP.   The object-oriented  style and  the graphical  interfaces are  simply
special-purpose  applications   of  LISP   code.  This   has  been   effectively
demonstrated on the MIT LISP machine.

Besides being the  parent of  many of the  LOGO/Smalltalk ideas,  LISP offers  a
degree of maturity and practicality not found in either Smalltalk or LOGO.  This
breadth includes  Artificial Intelligence  applications as  well as  educational
benefits.

In the  educational area,  LISP  shines.  For  the underlying  mechanisms  --the
reasons-- behind the "flash" of  the Smalltalk/LOGO programs are easily  grasped
in terms  of the  semantics of  LISP.  This  explanatory aspect  is critical  in
education, and has not been handled adequately in either Smalltalk or LOGO.



			  The Commercialization of AI

The AI  market is  broad, both  in the  sense of  professional applications  and
educational implications.  Major corporations --Schlumberger, Standard Oil,  TI,
CDC, IBM, and  HP for  example-- are  investing heavily  in AI.   These are  not
simply research efforts; they  are directed to  the substanitial development  of
commercial products.  These  applications include intelligent  CAD systems  that
understand  design  rules;   CAI  systems   that  undertand   the  topic   under
investigation;  "expert  systems"  that  can  operate  at  at  expert  level  in
specialized  domains  like   chemistry,  genetics,   medicine,  and   structural
engineering; intelligent  control  systems  for  robots;  large-scale  algebraic
manipulations systems;  and natural  language interfaces  to complex  data  base
applications for business data processing.

The immediate impact  of this  is a  short supply  of trained  AI personnel  and
therefore increased demand  at the  college level for  AI-related courses.  From
beneath this surface will spring a  general cultural awareness of, and  interest
in, AI-related topics. For  example, four publishers have  asked me to write  an
introductory-level LISP  text; and  as you know, a group  of us  will do a major
session/demo/tutorial on  LISP and  related  areas at  the West  Coast  Computer
Faire.

The point is that AI is a  growing market --two billion dollars by 1990,  claims
Business Week-- and  a good portion  of that  work will be  done on  traditional
micro processor based machines rather than special LISP machines.   Furthermore,
this is a market that no language other than LISP will impact for many years.

In a combination of  AI and education, the  US Navy is staffing  a large R&D  AI
effort. One aspect of  their program is an  application of Intelligent CAI  that
will utilize several  thousand micro-based machines  running LISP.  One  segment
--called the STEAMER  Project-- of  this effort has  recently purchased  several
Z-80 systems solely for  the purpose of running  LISP.  These systems are  being
utilized to "off-load" parts of a LISP-based simulation model of the dynamics of
a ship's  steam  boiler  plant. The  combined  system  is used  to  train  naval
personnel in the care and maintenance of the steam plant.  Though parts of  this
work can be done effectively on Z-80 class machines, the ultimate target of  the
Navy work is, of course, a more powerful machine and a more powerful LISP.

In particular, the group that funded the UCSD Pascal effort wants me to  develop
an extended version  of TLC LISP  for 16-bit  machines.  That is,  they will  be
funding me to "do for LISP, what  UCSD did for Pascal".  Considering the  Navy's
commitment to AI,  and the effect  their Pascal effort  had on micro  computing,
this TLC project will have a substantial impact on the AI field.


			      Educational Movement

AI applications are  only one thread  of the LISP  fabric. Another major  impact
will be "nose-to-nose" with Smalltalk in the educational market, for LISP offers
several advantages here.   At the level  of applications, one  can easily  argue
that a syntactically "sugar-coated" LISP  with a graphics interface will  supply
the younger learner  with much, if  not all, that  Smalltalk supplies. 

Where LISP  comes  into its  own  in the  educational  market is  its  basis  in
mathematics, and computing principles; one  can use LISP explain the  principles
that underlie  the  phenomena  that  one  experiences  in  Smalltalk  and  LOGO.
Smalltalk and LOGO  are to engineering,  as LISP is  to mathematics. This  added
leverage gives LISP inroads into intellectual disciplines that are not open to a
more superficial language. For example, one can give a firm and intuitive  basis
for modern computing, based on simple LISP-like constructs.

At MIT Dr. Harold Abelson  and Dr. Andrea diSessa  have instituted a program  to
revise the undergraduate  mathematics and physics  curricula using a  LISP-based
approach.  Their project, co-sponsored by MIT and ARPA, illustrates two  points:
first, MIT's committment to LISP --LISP has long been the major language used in
their introductory software course, and now is to be used to revitalize the more
traditional  undergraduate  curricula.    Second,  ARPA's  sponsorship   denotes
awareness that the growth of AI will require substantial increases in the number
of AI personnel. The MIT program will do much to improve education and  increase
the general awareness of LISP ideas.

At  Santa  Clara  University  I  have   instituted  a  program  to  revamp   the
undergraduate computer science  curriculum using  LISP ideas as  the base.  This
program includes  an interactive  programming lab  as an  integral part  of  the
educational experience.  This pilot study will begin in the spring term and will
be exported  to  other  universities  as  rapidly  as  possible;  several  other
universities have expressed strong interest.   We will also expand this  program
into a continuing  Humanities and  Science faculty workshop;  this program  will
develop a campus-wide course to introduce computing to the student-body. As soon
as the spring course gets underway,  I will actively pursue publicity for  these
efforts; it is  important that  people realize there  is an  alternative to  the
dull, boring, and deadily traditional approaches to "computing and society".

My ultimate goal is  to move a version  of this integrated program  --LISP-based
text and  computing  laboratory-- into  the  high schools  to  revitalize  their
mathematics and science programs,  while giving a more  accurate view of  modern
computation than that presented in the traditional BASIC model.

The potential,  both  in  financial  and intellectual  terms,  for  an  improved
educational offering is immense.  There is increasing awareness that the current
uses of computing in education are inadequate.  A recent joint NSF and Dept.  of
Education task force reported grim predictions for the educational output on the
US technological  front; they  suggested  a Presidential  council to  guide  the
refurbishing of our mathematics and science programs. Recent issues of  Computer
magazine, Communications of the ACM, BYTE, and U.S.News, have addressed the same
problems: current science education is a disaster.

In the July 1980 issue of  BYTE, Dr.  Arthur Luehrman suggests a  billion-dollar
equipment market and $50 million annually in sales of texts for computer-related
secondary education.  The applications and  educational market will be there  in
full force for the 16-bit machines, and Smalltalk's entry will only enlarge  the
wave.  LISP offers and elegant way to finesse the Smalltalk phenomenon, and  TLC
will be the force behind micro-based LISPs.




			    LISP Course for Industry

On the technical side, I am offering  a LISP class for the Western Institute  in
Computer Science (run by  the people who  used to run the  UC Santa Cruz  Summer
Institute) to be held this summer  at Santa Clara University.  This course  will
draw a substantial number of people, active in applied AI; the manufacturer  who
could demonstrate an inexpensive, powerful  LISP system at this Institute  could
reap substantial benefits.  




		       Extended Memory and New Processors

The key, for applicactions  and effective education, is  LISP in an  inexpensive
setting that is compatible with the parameters of interactive programming.   The
initial offerings in this market can either  be the single bank version, or  for
more extensive applications, the  multi-bank TLC-LISP.  In either  configuration
the LISP runs at about 1/3 of a KA-10, when utilizing a 4MHZ processor.  In  the
multi-bank configuration, the system  gives an effective  memory space of  about
1/3 of a  PDP-10. Given an  appropriate display interface,  such a system  would
offer the  LISP programmer  a desk-top  LISP  machine, equivalent  to 1/3  of  a
million-dollar installation, for about $5K!



				   The Future

The long-range solution is an integrated system running on the newer processors,
offering larger address space  and more flexible  display systems.  The  initial
Navy  grant  specifies  the  MC68000,  but  I  have  other  processors in  mind.
Requirements for interactive programming  as defined by  LISP (or Smalltalk,  or
LOGO) are more  stringent, requiring  carefully considerations  of display,  and
virtual memory design.   I believe  that, working  together on  the Santa  Clara
project, CCS and The LISP Company can cooperatively develop a strong program and
a machine that will please the growing AI and educational community.



				    Summary

As you can see, mine is a broad plan whose success requires more support than  a
small company like mine can supply. I am not the University of California,  MIT,
or even  Santa  Clara  University  for  that matter;  neither  am  I  the  Xerox
Corporation.  I  am  convinced that  my  plan  is sound,  both  financially  and
intellectually.

The most pressing problem is  the Santa Clara offering  this spring.  I need  to
locate support immediately to assure that the Interactive Programming Laboratory
is in place for the spring.  The most critical problem now is the acquisition of
machines for the programming laboratory.

If you  would like  further  information about  any  of these  projects,  please
contact me through one  of the following:  Santa  Clara University: Dr. Ruth  E.
Davis --(408)984-4358, TLC --(408)353-2227, or home --(408)353-3857.  



						    Yours sincerely,


						    John R. Allen
						    The LISP Company.
						    18215 Bayview Dr. 
						    Los Gatos Ca, 95030
						    (408) 353-2227