Rabbit: A Compiler for Scheme/Acknowledgements
Acknowledgements
I would like to acknowledge the contributions to this work of the following people and other entities:
Gerald Jay Sussman, who is not only my thesis advisor but a colleague and a good friend; who is fun to hack programs with; who not only provided insights on the issues of programming, but also was willing to give me a kick in the right direction when necessary;
Jon Doyle, one of the first real "users" of SCHEME, who was always willing to discuss my problems, and who carefully proofread the thesis in one day when no one else would or could;
Richard Zippel, the other first real SCHEME user, who has discussed with me many possibilities for the practical use of SCHEME-like languages in such large systems as MACSYMA;
Carl Hewitt, whose actors metaphor inspired in part first SCHEME and then the investigations presented here;
Scott Fahlman, who has Great Ideas, and who paid some of his dues at the same place I did;
Jon L White, resident LISP compiler expert and agreeable office-mate, who likes both tea and ();
Dan Weinreb, Bernie Greenberg, Richard Stallman, Dave Moon, Howard Cannon, Alan Bawden, Henry Baker, and Richard Greenblatt for their companionship, advice, comments, enthusiasm, criticism, and/or constructive opposition;
the rest of the gang at the AI Lab and Project MAC (loosely known as the Lab for Computer Science), for their continued interest in my work and for the pleasant social atmosphere they provide;
Bill Wulf, Charles Geschke, Richard Johnsson, Charles Weinstock, and Steven Hobbs, whose work on BLISS-II I found a great inspiration, for it told me that there was at least one beautiful compiler already;
Dan Friedman and Dave Wise, who also know that LISP is the One True Way; Dick Gabriel, a most singular person (that's odd...), who knows that Lapin is, best dealt with gingerly;
the National Science Foundation, which provided the fellowship under which this work was done;
Cindy Ellis and J.J. McCabe, who always treated me as just a regular guy; Julie Genovese, my main (and only) groupie;
the congregation at the Brighton Evangelical Congregational Church, for their social and moral support;
Mittens Jr., our cat, who was willing to communicate when the rest of the world was asleep;
Chuck, the peculiar poodle, who carried on as best she could after Mittens Jr. had gone, and who still barks in the night;
my brother, David A. Steele, who has kept me up to date on cultural affairs, and who probably understands me better than anyone else;
and my parents, Guy L. Steele Sr. and Nalora Steele, who provided unbounded amounts of patience, encouragement, opportunity, and support.