gnosis LISP - Computer Ads from the Past

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gnosis LISP<br>LISP for the Apple ][<br>May 26, 2026

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From the April 1982 issue of Byte magazine<br>The Company

OpenCorporates didn’t have any info on Pegasys Systems or gnosis. I checked out the Pennsylvania Secretary of State site. That states that the company was founded in April of 1981.

As noted in the ad, the company changed its name in 1981. According to the PA SOS site, the company changed it’s named 3 more time (twice in 1983 and once 1984), but the names are not listed. The site also notes that the business is active, but the annual report is overdue. The last entry for gnosis was in January of 1984.<br>Softalk noted the first name changed in the December 1981 issue:<br>“Pegasys Systems (Philadelphia, PA) is changing its name — or at least trying to — after discovering Pegasys Software in Honolulu and Pegasus Data Systems. The first choice, Thesis, was nixed because a small computer retail outlet in Michigan bore the name. According to Stu Shiffman, the second choice, Gnosis (from the Greek word meaning knowledge), will stick and take effect probably in January.”

The gnosis LISP manual says “Published by GNOSIS, a division of Pegasys Systems, Inc.”<br>The Product

From the December 1983 issue of Creative Computing magazine<br>The manual has a short history in the beginning:<br>LISP was developed in the late 1950’s by John McCarthy at MIT to serve as an algebraic list processing language [LISP=LISt Processor] for work in the then new field of Artifical Intelligence, The first work on implementation began in 1958 and LISP 1 was born. A second version, called LISP 1.5, was completed in the next few years. LISP 1.5 is the precursor of most of the LISP systems in existence tuday. During the 1960’s several other versions were developed across the country for various different machines. MACLISP from MIT, INTERLISP, formerly BBN LISP, and MTSLISP from the University of Michigan are three currently available. The dialect spoken in this book is P-LISP, for various microcomputers, written by Steven Cherry of PEGASYS SYSTEMS INC. Pegasys has now become GNOSIS, Inc.

From the August 1981 issue of Micro magazine<br>Buy me a coffee!<br>Apple Orchard mentioned it in the Fall 1981 issue:<br>Pegasys Systems’ new P-LISP Interpreter is a full implementation of the well known Artificial Intelligence language. Written in machine code, this powerful interpreter includes the following features: 55 functions implemented, 45 page user manual, full function trace, fast, efficient garbage collector. Supplied with function editor and pretty printer. Runs in 32 or 48K Apple II or II + with disk. Eliza and other sample programs included — $99.95. Specify DOS 3.2 or 3.3 Pegasys Systems, 4005 Chestnut Street, Philadelphia, PA 19104(215) 387-1500.

From the March 1984 issue of Creative Computing magazine<br>inCider Magazine was even briefer in their May 1984 issue:<br>P-Lisp Now for the Apple<br>Lisp, a language frequently used in artificial intelligence programs, is now available in a new, faster version for the Apple. P-Lisp version 3.2 features full floating-point mathematics, hi-res graphics and over 70 built-in functions. The P-Lisp package, at $99.95, includes the book Learning Lisp, as well as the interpreter and manual. Contact GNOSIS Inc.

The closest thing I found to a review was a mention in Washington Apple Pi Journal’s February 1984 issue. Frederick E. Naef wrote an article entitled “Implementing an Expert Program”.<br>WHAT IS P-LISP?<br>P-LISP Is a LISP Interpreter written for the 6502 microprocessor used In the Apple II. It Is supplied by GNOSIS, a Division of Pegasys Systems, Inc. of Philadelphia. I have been using version 3.0, but later versions are available, and a new release will be available soon for the Apple //e. The program runs well and the documentation, if augmented with additional references. Is sufficient to permit the user to master the language and operation.<br>The program requires a disk drive and at least 48K of RAM. Since LISP consumes large quantities of memory for internal operations, the program periodically Initiates a garbage collection routine to recover available memory. This routine takes time, and therefore the more memory you have Installed, the faster the program will run, because less garbage collection is required.<br>The best way to learn is to type in the functions and other lists provided by one of the references, and then debug until It runs. The P-LISP system has excellent trace and debugging facilities, and is very resilient and user tolerant.

Did you ever use gnosis LISP? Do you know anything about its history? Tell us about it in the comments below.<br>Share<br>Leave a comment

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