🚀 go-pugleaf

One of our classes is going to be running Scheme on a Sun 3/160 we
use as multi-user system.  As currently configured, it has 8 MB
of physical memory, 44 MB of swap space on a local SMD disk, and
16 terminals.

I just installed Version 7.0 of C Scheme--essentially by typing
``make'', and taking the system as it came ``out of the box'' for
a sun3.  The resulting scheme allocates just under 4 MB of
virtual memory as soon as it starts up.  That probably restricts
us to 8 to 10 simultaneous users, and no doubt abysmal
performance as the machine spends much of its time swapping.  So
I am soliciting suggestions for reducing the resource demands of
scheme.

I could reduce the stack and heap size (``scheme -stack 50 -heap 63'' 
only requires 2.2 MB).  Not being a experienced schemer,
though, I don't have any feel for how small I can make them
before it becomes impossible to do any useful work.  Does anyone
have any guidelines to provide?

I could also use bchscheme, which is recommended in the
distribution for sites that have memory shortages, but the README
notes that bchscheme's purify procedure will crash if it runs out
of space.  Is this likely to cause problems to neophyte
undergraduate users?

I have also taken a look at version 6 of Scheme, because its
README made promising mention of a student dialect.  As far as I
can tell, though, the student version has the same resource
demands as the full version.  Is this correct, or am I missing
something.  Is it possible to create a student version in Scheme
7.0?

Please mail responses directly to me, as I have only just
asked to be added to the mailing list.  Thank you.

John Jorgensen		jorgnsn@qucis.queensu.ca	(613) 545 6066
Systems Programmer, Dept. of Computing Science, Queen's University