README.html
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<title>The Isabelle System Distribution</title>
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<h1>The Isabelle System Distribution</h1>

<h2>Version information</h2>

This is the internal repository version of Isabelle.  The current line
of development introduces many new features, while attempting to keep
incompatibilities over Isabelle98-X at a minimum.  See the
<tt>NEWS</tt> file in the distribution for more details.


<h2>System requirements</h2>

Isabelle requires a real Unix box with sufficient resources. Fun
starts at about 32-64 MB of free main memory (somewhat depending on
your ML system), with several tens of MB disk space and a decent CPU.
Speaking by today's hardware standards, any moderate Linux box should
make a nice platform for Isabelle.

<p>

Furthermore, Isabelle needs the following software, which is not part
of the distribution:
<ul>
<li> A full Standard ML Compiler (e.g. Poly/ML).
<li> The GNU bash shell (version 1.x or 2.x).
<li> Perl 5.x - the Pathologically Eclectic Rubbish Lister (Perl 4.x
is <em>not</em> sufficient).
</ul>

<p>

The following ML system and platform combinations are known to work
very well:
<ul>
<li> Poly/ML 3.x on Linux and Suns.
<li> SML/NJ 110.x on any Unix platform (e.g. Linux, Suns).
<li> SML/NJ 0.93 on Suns and SGIs. There seem to be several
problems with Linux and HP-UX, though.
</ul>

<p> <A HREF="http://www.polyml.org/">Poly/ML</A>, previously a commercial
product, is back in the public domain.  It is the best compiler for running
Isabelle, requiring the least memory and offering the fastest performance.

<p> <a
href="http://cm.bell-labs.com/cm/cs/what/smlnj/software.html">SML/NJ</a>
needs lots of store and disk space, but it is free.  The current
official release is 110 (there is an <a
href="ftp://ftp.cl.cam.ac.uk/MIRRORED/smlnj/release/110/smlnj-110.0-3.i386.rpm">RPM
archive</a> available for Linux/x86).  We still support the old 0.93
release, but do not recommend it.

<p> MLWorks is a commercial ML programming environment developed by 
<a href="http://www.harlequin.com/">Harlequin</A> and was
unfortunately withdrawn after that company was taken over.  Isabelle on
MLWorks 2.0 works well.  It is about 20% faster than on SML/NJ while using
slightly less memory and disk space.  A few minor features (e.g. ML top-level
pretty printing) are not supported, though. 



<h2>Installation</h2>

Binary rpm packages are available for Isabelle/HOL and ZF on the
Linux/x86 platform.  Alternatively, the system may be built from
scratch as described in file <tt>INSTALL</tt> of the Isabelle sources.
Further background information may be found in the <em>Isabelle System
Manual</em>, distributed with the sources (directory <tt>doc</tt>).


<h2>User interfaces</h2>

The distribution includes only a very primitive interface based on
ordinary terminal sessions. Advanced interfaces are available from 
other sources:

<UL>
<LI>
<a href="http://www.dcs.ed.ac.uk/home/da/Isamode/">Isamode</a> by
David Aspinall is a more elaborate interface for Isabelle.  It runs
under recent versions of XEmacs and is useful to both novices and
experts.

<LI>
<a href="http://www.dcs.ed.ac.uk/home/proofgen/">Proof General</a> is
a generic Emacs interface for proof assistants, including Isabelle
(both for the classic and Isar version).  Proof General is suitable
for use by pacifists and Emacs militants alike. Its most prominent
feature is script management, providing a metaphor of <em>live proof
script editing</em>.
</UL>

<h2>Other sources of information</h2>

<h3>Mailing list</h3>

The electronic mailing list <TT>isabelle-users@cl.cam.ac.uk</TT>
provides a forum for Isabelle users to discuss problems and exchange
information. To join, send a message to
<A HREF="mailto:isabelle-users-request@cl.cam.ac.uk">isabelle-users-request@cl.cam.ac.uk</A>.


<h3>Personal mail</h3>

<a href="http://www.cl.cam.ac.uk/users/lcp/">Lawrence C Paulson</a><br>
Computer Laboratory<br>
University of Cambridge<br>
Pembroke Street<br>
Cambridge CB2 3QG<br>
England<br>
<br>
E-mail: <A HREF="mailto:lcp@cl.cam.ac.uk">lcp@cl.cam.ac.uk</A><br>
Phone: +44-223-334600<br>
Fax:   +44-223-334748<br>

<p>
or
<p>

<a href="http://www.in.tum.de/~nipkow/">Tobias Nipkow</a><br>
Institut fuer Informatik<br>
T. U. Muenchen<br>	
D-80290 Muenchen<br>
Germany<br>
<br>
E-mail: <A HREF="mailto:nipkow@in.tum.de">nipkow@in.tum.de</A><br>
Phone: +49-89-289-22690<br>
Fax:   +49-89-289-28183<br>

<p>

<hr>

Please report any problems you encounter.  While we shall try to be
helpful, we can accept no responsibility for the deficiencies of
Isabelle and their consequences.

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