Chez Scheme Version 8 is a complete implementation of the language of the Revised6 Report on Scheme (R6RS), with numerous extensions. It sports a fast compiler that generates efficient native code for each processor upon which it runs. It is extensively tested and actively maintained and supported.
This book is a companion to The Scheme Programming Language, 4th Edition (TSPL4). While TSPL4 describes only standard R6RS features, this book describes Chez Scheme extensions. For the reader's convenience, the summary of forms and index at the back of this book contain entries from both books, with each entry from TSPL4 marked with a "t" in front of its page number. In the online version, the page numbers given in the summary of forms and index double as direct links into one of the documents or the other.
Additional documentation for Chez Scheme includes release notes, a manual page, and a number of published papers and articles that describe various aspects of the system's design and implementation.
In addition to supporting the wealth of new R6RS features, Chez Scheme Version 8 also supports several new extensions, including support for non-blocking I/O, new file and directory primitives, and a more efficient interactive top-level environment.
The threaded versions of Chez Scheme support native threads, allowing Scheme programs to take advantage of multiprocessor or multiple-core systems. Nonthreaded versions are also available and are slightly faster for single-threaded applications.
Chez Scheme's interactive programming system includes an expression editor that, like many shells, supports command-line editing, a history mechanism, and command completion. Unlike most shells that support command-line editing, the expression editor properly supports multiline expressions.
Chez Scheme Version 8 has been a long time coming. Adapting the system to support R6RS has been challenging, given our desire to maintain as much backward compatibility as possible, maintain or increase functionality, and maintain or increase reliability and performance. We hope that the result is worth the wait.
Thank you for using Chez Scheme.
Kent Dybvig
Bloomington, Indiana
R. Kent Dybvig /
Copyright © 2009 R. Kent Dybvig
Revised October 2011 for Chez Scheme Version 8.4
Cadence Research Systems / www.scheme.com
Cover illustration © 2010 Jean-Pierre Hébert
ISBN: 978-0-966-71392-3
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