The Isabelle System Distribution
Version information
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
NEWS file in the distribution for more details.
System requirements
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.
Furthermore, Isabelle needs the following software, which is not part
of the distribution:
- A full Standard ML Compiler (e.g. Poly/ML).
- The GNU bash shell (version 1.x or 2.x).
- Perl 5.x - the Pathologically Eclectic Rubbish Lister (Perl 4.x
is not sufficient).
The following ML system and platform combinations are known to work
very well:
- Poly/ML 3.x on Linux and Suns.
- SML/NJ 110.x on any Unix platform (e.g. Linux, Suns).
- SML/NJ 0.93 on Suns and SGIs. There seem to be several
problems with Linux and HP-UX, though.
Poly/ML, 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.
SML/NJ
needs lots of store and disk space, but it is free. The current
official release is 110 (there is an RPM
archive available for Linux/x86). We still support the old 0.93
release, but do not recommend it.
MLWorks is a commercial ML programming environment developed by
Harlequin 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unfortunately withdrawn after that company was taken over.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.
Installation
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 INSTALL of the Isabelle sources.
Further background information may be found in the Isabelle System
Manual, distributed with the sources (directory doc).
User interfaces
The distribution includes only a very primitive interface based on
ordinary terminal sessions. Advanced interfaces are available from
other sources:
-
Isamode 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.
-
Proof General 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 live proof
script editing.
Other sources of information
Mailing list
The electronic mailing list isabelle-users@cl.cam.ac.uk
provides a forum for Isabelle users to discuss problems and exchange
information. To join, send a message to
isabelle-users-request@cl.cam.ac.uk.
Personal mail
Lawrence C Paulson
Computer Laboratory
University of Cambridge
Pembroke Street
Cambridge CB2 3QG
England
E-mail: lcp@cl.cam.ac.uk
Phone: +44-223-334600
Fax: +44-223-334748
or
Tobias Nipkow
Institut fuer Informatik
T. U. Muenchen
D-80290 Muenchen
Germany
E-mail: nipkow@in.tum.de
Phone: +49-89-289-22690
Fax: +49-89-289-28183
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.