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Hi HNers- I'm Conrad (aka drcode) the author of said book. Thanks guys for helping build the buzz around LOL! (I should also thank pg for getting me into this s

by drcode 16y ago

Hi HNers- I'm Conrad (aka drcode) the author of said book. Thanks guys for helping build the buzz around LOL! (I should also thank pg for getting me into this stuff in the first place.) I'll be lurking in this thread today and tomorrow... feel free to post any questions about the book or about Lisp in general and I will answer them. Here's the only coupon code currently for the book. I'm posting it exclusively on HN and proggit: 76738380768586 (ASCII for LISPLUV :-) It gives a 35% discount on the Book+eBook combo on the No Starch site (http://nostarch.com/lisp.htm http://nostarch.com/lisp.htm). It expires 11/3. (FYI- If you just want the eBook, No Starch already has a 50% off sale right now across the board. If you only want the print copy, Amazon has a heavily discounted price already, for reasons that are mysterious to me. Oh, and if you've already pre-ordered, just cancel and reorder to get the discount.)

rsmaniak 16y ago
Hey I just bought a copy of the e-book but I can't download it yet there's only a dummy file.
- drcode 16y ago
  Hi- I just talked to my No Starch contact and they said the PDF should appear any moment- apologies... a little glitch on take-off.
  - rsmaniak 16y ago
    Great, thanks!
- drcode 16y ago
  Hi- The glitch is fixed- You should have just received the correct PDF... Email me at lisperati@gmail.com if this is not the case.
forwardslash 16y ago
I preordered your book, can't wait for it to come!
moogatronic 16y ago
awesome! I was putting off ordering this while I finished reading Joy of Clojure, but the coupon code forced my hand. Thanks - Looking forward to the print copy arrival.
swannodette 16y ago
You've also put together an amazing site for the book! Both the video and comic are hilarious and top notch. I'd send anybody curious about Lisp to your book site in a heartbeat. Long Live Lisp.
aiurtourist 16y ago
What a wonderful step in the direction of making Lisp "cool." The site is great, the comic is witty and wonderful, and — after meeting the No Starch guy a few years ago — you chose a great publisher.
spoon16 16y ago
purchased, looks fun!
mark_l_watson 16y ago
Thanks for the discount code Conrad, I just used it to buy the print+PDF book. Also: I have really enjoyed your writing on the web for a long time!
Sikul 16y ago
I enjoyed the comic. There is a typo in the last panel. It says "Doug the developer and and the others could now return to their programming, no longer in fear of bugs." The word "and" is repeated.
- drcode 16y ago
  Thanks
vu3rdd 16y ago
Thanks. I had been waiting for this book for a long time. After some 3 attempts of download, I could download the book. All I can say is that this book is really awesome!
speek 16y ago
Congrats on the release. I'm excited to finish reading the book. I just thought you should know, however, that there's a minor mistake (I think) in some of the walkthrough stuff in the pdf. On page 56: > (defun pudding-eater (person) (cond ((eq person 'henry) (setf *arch-enemy* 'stupid-lisp-alien) '(curse you lisp alien – you ate my pudding)) ((eq person 'johnny) (setf *arch-enemy* 'useless-old-johnny) '(i hope you choked on my pudding johnny)) (t '(why you eat my pudding stranger ?)))) > (pudding-eater 'johnny) (I HOPE YOU CHOKED ON MY PUDDING JOHNNY) > *arch-enemy* JOHNNY arch-enemy at this time should hold the value 'useless-old-johnny, not 'johnny
- deleted 16y ago
  [deleted]
- drcode 16y ago
  Yes, you are right- You found the first errata! At least the intent of the code is still clear.
- kaffiene 16y ago
  But LISP is immune to bugs!?! What gives??
- ponnap 16y ago
  It seems to work for me. CL-USER> (defvar *arch-enemy* nil) (defun pudding-eater (person) (cond ((eq person 'henry)(setf *arch-enemy* 'stupid-lisp-alien)'(curse you lisp alien - you ate my pudding)) ((eq person 'johnny)(setf *arch-enemy* 'useless-old-johnny)'(i hope you choked on my pudding johnny)) (t'(why you ate my pudding stranger?)))) PUDDING-EATER CL-USER> *arch-enemy* NIL CL-USER> (pudding-eater 'johnny) (I HOPE YOU CHOKED ON MY PUDDING JOHNNY) CL-USER> *arch-enemy* USELESS-OLD-JOHNNY CL-USER>
alrex021 16y ago
Firstly, congratulations on completing the book. Will this book be available for Kindle by any chance?
- drcode 16y ago
  My understanding is it will appear on the kindle in the near future (though I don't know the process for this 100%)
  - dpapathanasiou 16y ago
    If your contract with NoStarch permits, my startup (http://fifobooks.com/ http://fifobooks.com/) could do this for you. I.e., we could produce a native ebook (not pdf) file for the Kindle, iPad, Nook, Sony, and a bunch of other dedicated e-reader devices.
rlm 16y ago
Any plans for a epub version? :)
- drcode 16y ago
  Yes- I believe it will show up in a week or two.
  - rlm 16y ago
    Will it be available if I purchase the PDF or should I wait?
    - drcode 16y ago
      Someone else asked this... I'll let you know as soon as I find out.
      - TY 16y ago
        Please do lets us know about this, I read PDFs on my computers and ePubs on my portable devices. And thank you for the book and the awesome video and comic! :-)
        drcode 16y ago
        Yes, it'll be free to download a couple of weeks after you buy the PDF.
        deleted 16y ago
        [deleted]
    - deleted 16y ago
      [deleted]
    - drcode 16y ago
      Yes, it'll be a free download in a couple weeks if you buy the PDF.
jast 16y ago
Thanks for this wonderfull book! I have just bought the printed book with the pdf. Very very good! This might be just the perfect companion to "Pratical Common Lisp" by Peter Seibel. I always thought PCL is an excellent book for someone who already knows some Lisp. With these two books, I believe you really achieve a powerfull combo to start learning and using Lisp! And the music is very cool too :-)
projectileboy 16y ago
Awesome!! Congratulations - I know it was a long haul, but it looks like it was well worth it.
silentbicycle 16y ago
Sweet! Your Casting SPELs in Lisp was one of the things that first got me interested in Lisp years and years ago. :) Just ordered. (The ebook seems to be working fine now.)
macmac 16y ago
Will there be a Kindle version of the ebook?
- drcode 16y ago
  yes- takes a couple more weeks to get the mobi file, free with pdf purchase.
airfoil 16y ago
Conrad, this was awesome! Excellent work! Ordering...
Keyframe 16y ago
Hah this is awesome. Not only from a coding perspective, but from one artist to another - congrats. I really enjoyed that comic about Lisp fleet. Comic also exposes one nasty thing about it - there is no single implementation that has all of the fleet's features. Do you recommend some specific implementation to go with your book? Anyways, first check that comes in November and I'm buying. Congrats on your project once again, really looks like something special!
- drcode 16y ago
  I think Common Lisp, Scheme, and Clojure each have a lot to offer. I wish there was one perfect Lisp :)
  - mahmud 16y ago
    I think it was Appel who had a funny proof for the non-existence of the Perfect Compiler, it can be applied to Lisp quite easily. FWIW, the proof used the halting problem and went like this. Assume there is a an unoptimized program that, when ran, would go through a series of motions but ultimately halt without any useful output or side-effect. Assume there existed a perfect compiler, PC; that compiler would need to be sufficiently smart enough to translate the problem to a single HALT instruction (or "Label X: goto X".) But since the halting of programs can not be proven analytically, it stands to reason that PC does not exist.
    - phob 16y ago
      Actually, this could be done if the program didn't use any print or input commands. In general, it still cannot be done.
      - mahmud 16y ago
        I said "without any useful output or side-effect". I/O falls under those categories.
- drcode 16y ago
apgwoz 16y ago
I'm really glad you made an mp3/ogg version of the song available. It's been on repeat all morning.
bjhess 16y ago
Thanks for the book, and the discount. I've never took the time to really learn Lisp, even though I took a class on it in college. Excited to dig in to Land of Lisp!
natep 16y ago
Congratulations on getting the book out (and for the 30% off you gave me)! My only question so far is about the comic...what's the point of the 3 panels in the training facility? Is the 'hug' joke supposed to be funny?
- drcode 16y ago
  I was trying to make fun of the Wii controller... oh well, you can't win them all...
  - natep 16y ago
    Oh, OK. I think I got the joke and then thought 'oh, that can't be it'. It did give a nice break to the pacing of the story, though.
mhd 16y ago
And you found yourself a happy customer. You had me at balancing weasels on a rake. (Or, well, at the discount. Hard to fight against my poor German genes.)
dytrivedi 16y ago
Greetings from India. Just purchased eBook + Print. Thanks a bunch for discount. I look forward to become a LISPer. Cheers!

by drcode 16y ago

rsmaniak 16y ago

Hey I just bought a copy of the e-book but I can't download it yet there's only a dummy file.

drcode 16y ago
Hi- I just talked to my No Starch contact and they said the PDF should appear any moment- apologies... a little glitch on take-off.
- rsmaniak 16y ago
  Great, thanks!
drcode 16y ago
Hi- The glitch is fixed- You should have just received the correct PDF... Email me at lisperati@gmail.com if this is not the case.

forwardslash 16y ago

I preordered your book, can't wait for it to come!

moogatronic 16y ago

awesome! I was putting off ordering this while I finished reading Joy of Clojure, but the coupon code forced my hand. Thanks - Looking forward to the print copy arrival.

swannodette 16y ago

You've also put together an amazing site for the book! Both the video and comic are hilarious and top notch. I'd send anybody curious about Lisp to your book site in a heartbeat. Long Live Lisp.

aiurtourist 16y ago

What a wonderful step in the direction of making Lisp "cool." The site is great, the comic is witty and wonderful, and — after meeting the No Starch guy a few years ago — you chose a great publisher.

spoon16 16y ago

purchased, looks fun!

mark_l_watson 16y ago

Thanks for the discount code Conrad, I just used it to buy the print+PDF book. Also: I have really enjoyed your writing on the web for a long time!

Sikul 16y ago

I enjoyed the comic. There is a typo in the last panel. It says "Doug the developer and and the others could now return to their programming, no longer in fear of bugs." The word "and" is repeated.

drcode 16y ago
Thanks

vu3rdd 16y ago

Thanks. I had been waiting for this book for a long time. After some 3 attempts of download, I could download the book. All I can say is that this book is really awesome!

speek 16y ago

Congrats on the release. I'm excited to finish reading the book. I just thought you should know, however, that there's a minor mistake (I think) in some of the walkthrough stuff in the pdf. On page 56: > (defun pudding-eater (person) (cond ((eq person 'henry) (setf *arch-enemy* 'stupid-lisp-alien) '(curse you lisp alien – you ate my pudding)) ((eq person 'johnny) (setf *arch-enemy* 'useless-old-johnny) '(i hope you choked on my pudding johnny)) (t '(why you eat my pudding stranger ?)))) > (pudding-eater 'johnny) (I HOPE YOU CHOKED ON MY PUDDING JOHNNY) > *arch-enemy* JOHNNY arch-enemy at this time should hold the value 'useless-old-johnny, not 'johnny

deleted 16y ago
[deleted]
drcode 16y ago
Yes, you are right- You found the first errata! At least the intent of the code is still clear.
kaffiene 16y ago
But LISP is immune to bugs!?! What gives??
ponnap 16y ago
It seems to work for me. CL-USER> (defvar *arch-enemy* nil) (defun pudding-eater (person) (cond ((eq person 'henry)(setf *arch-enemy* 'stupid-lisp-alien)'(curse you lisp alien - you ate my pudding)) ((eq person 'johnny)(setf *arch-enemy* 'useless-old-johnny)'(i hope you choked on my pudding johnny)) (t'(why you ate my pudding stranger?)))) PUDDING-EATER CL-USER> *arch-enemy* NIL CL-USER> (pudding-eater 'johnny) (I HOPE YOU CHOKED ON MY PUDDING JOHNNY) CL-USER> *arch-enemy* USELESS-OLD-JOHNNY CL-USER>

alrex021 16y ago

Firstly, congratulations on completing the book. Will this book be available for Kindle by any chance?

drcode 16y ago
My understanding is it will appear on the kindle in the near future (though I don't know the process for this 100%)
- dpapathanasiou 16y ago
  If your contract with NoStarch permits, my startup (http://fifobooks.com/ http://fifobooks.com/) could do this for you. I.e., we could produce a native ebook (not pdf) file for the Kindle, iPad, Nook, Sony, and a bunch of other dedicated e-reader devices.

rlm 16y ago

Any plans for a epub version? :)

drcode 16y ago
Yes- I believe it will show up in a week or two.
- rlm 16y ago
  Will it be available if I purchase the PDF or should I wait?
  - drcode 16y ago
    Someone else asked this... I'll let you know as soon as I find out.
    - TY 16y ago
      Please do lets us know about this, I read PDFs on my computers and ePubs on my portable devices. And thank you for the book and the awesome video and comic! :-)
      - drcode 16y ago
        Yes, it'll be free to download a couple of weeks after you buy the PDF.
        deleted 16y ago
        [deleted]
  - deleted 16y ago
    [deleted]
  - drcode 16y ago
    Yes, it'll be a free download in a couple weeks if you buy the PDF.

jast 16y ago

Thanks for this wonderfull book! I have just bought the printed book with the pdf. Very very good! This might be just the perfect companion to "Pratical Common Lisp" by Peter Seibel. I always thought PCL is an excellent book for someone who already knows some Lisp. With these two books, I believe you really achieve a powerfull combo to start learning and using Lisp! And the music is very cool too :-)

projectileboy 16y ago

Awesome!! Congratulations - I know it was a long haul, but it looks like it was well worth it.

silentbicycle 16y ago

Sweet! Your Casting SPELs in Lisp was one of the things that first got me interested in Lisp years and years ago. :) Just ordered. (The ebook seems to be working fine now.)

macmac 16y ago

Will there be a Kindle version of the ebook?

drcode 16y ago
yes- takes a couple more weeks to get the mobi file, free with pdf purchase.

airfoil 16y ago

Conrad, this was awesome! Excellent work! Ordering...

Keyframe 16y ago

Hah this is awesome. Not only from a coding perspective, but from one artist to another - congrats. I really enjoyed that comic about Lisp fleet. Comic also exposes one nasty thing about it - there is no single implementation that has all of the fleet's features. Do you recommend some specific implementation to go with your book? Anyways, first check that comes in November and I'm buying. Congrats on your project once again, really looks like something special!

drcode 16y ago
I think Common Lisp, Scheme, and Clojure each have a lot to offer. I wish there was one perfect Lisp :)
- mahmud 16y ago
  I think it was Appel who had a funny proof for the non-existence of the Perfect Compiler, it can be applied to Lisp quite easily. FWIW, the proof used the halting problem and went like this. Assume there is a an unoptimized program that, when ran, would go through a series of motions but ultimately halt without any useful output or side-effect. Assume there existed a perfect compiler, PC; that compiler would need to be sufficiently smart enough to translate the problem to a single HALT instruction (or "Label X: goto X".) But since the halting of programs can not be proven analytically, it stands to reason that PC does not exist.
  - phob 16y ago
    Actually, this could be done if the program didn't use any print or input commands. In general, it still cannot be done.
    - mahmud 16y ago
      I said "without any useful output or side-effect". I/O falls under those categories.
drcode 16y ago

apgwoz 16y ago

I'm really glad you made an mp3/ogg version of the song available. It's been on repeat all morning.

bjhess 16y ago

Thanks for the book, and the discount. I've never took the time to really learn Lisp, even though I took a class on it in college. Excited to dig in to Land of Lisp!

natep 16y ago

Congratulations on getting the book out (and for the 30% off you gave me)! My only question so far is about the comic...what's the point of the 3 panels in the training facility? Is the 'hug' joke supposed to be funny?

drcode 16y ago
I was trying to make fun of the Wii controller... oh well, you can't win them all...
- natep 16y ago
  Oh, OK. I think I got the joke and then thought 'oh, that can't be it'. It did give a nice break to the pacing of the story, though.

mhd 16y ago

And you found yourself a happy customer. You had me at balancing weasels on a rake. (Or, well, at the discount. Hard to fight against my poor German genes.)

dytrivedi 16y ago

Greetings from India. Just purchased eBook + Print. Thanks a bunch for discount. I look forward to become a LISPer. Cheers!