[Chicken-users] [ANN] New "numbers" egg branch

[Peter Bex]

Hello Chicken users,

As some of you know, I've been working on a replacement for the "numbers"
egg these last few weeks.  The new code is based on the old code, except
it doesn't rely on GMP.  Instead, its C code is taken from Scheme48,
which itself is based on old and well-tested code from MIT Scheme (but
it's BSD licensed).

This new version is completely standalone; it requires no additional
libraries and is 100% BSD-licensed (whereas GMP was LGPL).
It is also a *lot* faster than the old egg because it now integrates
fully with Chicken's garbage collector (thanks to Felix for suggesting
this and helping me to get this working!).

I've also added a few more tests, and many bugs have been fixed.
(including #76)  I've ported some benchmarks from CMUCL too, which show
that the new code is at least at an acceptable performance level,
compared to the old code.

It is currently at a state where people can test it.  Please do, and let
me know if you find any bugs.  The code can be found in Subversion:
https://chicken.wiki.br/svn/chicken-eggs/release/4/numbers/branches/standalone

If there are no objections I will replace the old egg with this code
once we have verified that it's stable.

Cheers,
Peter
-- 
http://sjamaan.ath.cx
--
"The process of preparing programs for a digital computer
 is especially attractive, not only because it can be economically
 and scientifically rewarding, but also because it can be an aesthetic
 experience much like composing poetry or music."
                                                        -- Donald Knuth