Lisp Maintenance and Documentation Proposal

	Weyrauch complains of various problems in using the Lisp  1.6
and Ilisp systems.  These include:

1)	The lack of a system expert to consult when he has trouble.

2)	Bugs  in the Ilisp compiler, which has been modified from its
1.6 form.

3)	Lack of documentation beyond the user  manuals.     He  lacks
instructions  for  building  the  Ilisp system, information about the
system functions available from Lisp, and other information he  feels
necessary  for  system  building  activities which go beyond straight
Lisp programming.

4)	Problems with the loader, and lack of documentation about its
strange behavior.

5)	Trouble with the edit and break packages.

6)	Need  to  impliment new interactive editing facilities either
within lisp or using the system editors, or both.

	In response to these needs, I propose the following.

1)	I am familiar with Lisp 1.6, and  parts  of  Ilisp.     If  I
undertake to work on Lisp, I will acheive a thorough familiarity with
both, enabling me to answer Weyrauch's questions.

2)	I am prepared to produce thorough documentation of  the  Lisp
system. This documentation would take at least two forms.
	a) Thoroughl commenting the existing code.
	b)  Preparing  a  "Maintenance  Manual"  for Lisp which would
enable a freshman maintainer or a "subsystem builder"  to  understand
the  areas  of  the  program  which  concerned him, with a reasonable
amount of work.  This  manual  would  include,  but  perhaps  not  be
limited  to a descriptions of the main Lisp system and such auxiliary
programs as the compiler, vine etc., routine by routine, and an index
of  all  data  structures, variables etc.     which would explain the
function, uses and conventions surrounding each.

3)	I am prepared to debug the code as it stands, without  making
major modifications.

4)	I  am prepared to reimpliment or recode existing functions of
the system, if this is considered desirable.

5)	I am prepared to  undertake  special  projects  such  as  the
construction  of  an  "E  link",  a new edit and break package within
Lisp, modifications to the  loader  etc.,  after  study  of  proposed
specifications for same.