Cyclone is an experimental Scheme-to-C compiler that uses a variant of the Cheney on the MTA technique to implement full tail recursion, continuations, generational garbage collection, and native threads. Unlike previous Cheney on the MTA compilers, Cyclone allows execution of multiple native threads. A tracing garbage collector is used to manage the second-generation heap and perform major collections without "stopping the world".

Getting Started

1. To install Cyclone on your machine for the first time use cyclone-bootstrap to build a set of binaries.

2. After installing you can run the cyclone command to compile a single Scheme file:

    $ cyclone examples/fac.scm
    $ examples/fac
    3628800
   

   And the icyc command to start an interactive interpreter:

    $ icyc
   
                  :@
                @@@
              @@@@:
            `@@@@@+
           .@@@+@@@      Cyclone
           @@     @@     An experimental Scheme compiler
          ,@             https://github.com/justinethier/cyclone
          '@
          .@
           @@     #@     (c) 2014 Justin Ethier
           `@@@#@@@.     Version 0.0.1 (Pre-release)
            #@@@@@
            +@@@+
            @@#
          `@.
   
    cyclone> (write 'hello-world)
    hello-world
   

   You can use rlwrap to make the interpreter more friendly, EG: rlwrap icyc.

3. Read the documentation below for detailed information on how to use Cyclone.

Documentation

The User Manual covers in detail how to use Cyclone, and provides information and API documentation on the Scheme language features implemented by Cyclone.

The Development Guide contains instructions for hacking on Cyclone.

Writing the Cyclone Scheme Compiler provides high-level details on how the compiler was written and how it works.

Finally, if you need a place to start learning the Scheme language try a classic textbook such as Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs.

References

• CONS Should Not CONS Its Arguments, Part II: Cheney on the M.T.A., by Henry Baker
• CHICKEN Scheme
• Chibi Scheme
• Compiling Scheme to C with closure conversion, by Matt Might
• Implementing an on-the-fly garbage collector for Java, by Domani et al
• Lisp in Small Pieces, by Christian Queinnec
• Portable, Unobtrusive Garbage Collection for Multiprocessor Systems, by Damien Doligez and Georges Gonthier
• R⁵RS Scheme Specification
• R⁷RS Scheme Specification
• Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs, by Harold Abelson and Gerald Jay Sussman
• The 90 minute Scheme to C compiler, by Marc Feeley

License

Copyright (C) 2014 Justin Ethier.

Cyclone is available under the MIT license.