::SHE:: and ::ILA::, an overview

More about ::SHE:: and ::ILA::, an overview

::SHE+ILA:: is an experimental homebrew retro operating system / programming language. It is inspired by a mashup of C++, APL, and Lisp. It consists of two main modules -- ::SHE:: (Segmented Hierarchical Environment) which holds the system state and user documents using virtual storage principles. This is in contrast to most OS's, which uses files to hold executable code and user documents. ::ILA:: (Interactive Language Architecture) is where you write, edit, and manage code and data. These are held in "Bufs" (buffers) -- think of them as managed arrays. ::SHE:: and ::ILA:: are connected together via a protocol called "FBI" (Fundamental Buf Interface) which allows allocation of store, insertion and extraction of array elements, subscripting, and so on. (See the #sheila DDG hashtag for documentation (in the descriptions of the artwork)). For security reasons the user cannot just access any segment, it must be "imported" into the current thread by the "£" (pound) operator (for example, "£ ::MATHS::". This updates the GHOST (Global Host Online Segment Table.) Segments are denoted by a (typically) uppercase identifier, enclosed in double colons (like namespaces in C++). On the DOS version, ::SHE:: runs as a TSR com program, and accesses the page frames by means of protected mode. On the MS-Windows version ::SHE:: in an NT Service, accessed by COM (or DCOM). In the stand-alone version, ::SHE:: is built into the main bootstrap. (See also the Networking artwork.)