Are there any technical impediments to making a virtual Scheme Machine that is conceptually similar to the "images" in Squeak and Pharo Smalltalk? Such a virtual Scheme Machine would be able to provide a well-integrated and consistent development environment for Scheme programmers.
I don't think there is.
everything is possible
but not everyone can do it
I don't think so. I believe MIT/GNU Scheme already does something similar (if extremely simple) with bands and Edwin. It was originally designed in 1979 to run on a system-on-a-chip called SCHEME-79 which, I suppose, is the reason for the self-contained design. Something similar could also be built upon Scheme48.
Try Interlisp, which is now open source although not suitable for production usage. Not sure how close that is to a real Lisp machine experience.
https://github.com/Interlisp/medley
Have you heard about the Low Level Virtual Machine (LLVM)? This is a compiler project that is intended for language writers to write a "language front end", it allows language writers to target an " Instruction Set Architecture back end". LLVM is supposed to be the target platform that will compile a "front end language" into compiled machine code. Well there are already projects out there that implement various Scheme variants that will target LLVM.
It was originally designed in 1979 to run on a system-on-a-chip called SCHEME-79 ...
Where can I buy that chip?
Are the blueprints open source so that I can make my own SCHEME-79 chips without being sued into oblivion?
>>7
Why not send an email to the Sussman asking about it?
I found this article about it that has charming pictures of him and Guy Steele at the end, they look so young: https://www.computer.org/csdl/magazine/co/1981/07/01667431/13rRUB7a15V