Third CLOS users and implementors workshop (workshop session)

Abstract

Scott Cyphers and David Moon explain several of the efficiency mechanisms in the Symbolics CLOS implementation. This includes issues such as object representation, slot access, dispatch, instance creation and the modification of classes and existing instances. Rick Dinitz, Philip McBride, Hans Muller and John Rose describe how they used CLOS features in their work with Lisp View, a Lisp interface to Open Look and X, which is itself written in CLOS. In particular, they explain their use of multiple inheritance, multimethod dispatch of various kinds, protocols with polymorphism, introspection, class evolution and method combination.