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Previous discussions from last year: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16860646 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16860646 https://news.ycombinator.com/it

Previous discussions from last year: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16860646 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16860646 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16679963 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=16679963 (Common) Lisp usually gets more use than exposure, so it's nice to see large-scale Lisp success stories. Makes me feel warm and fuzzy inside, as it's one of my two favourite languages (the other one being, of course, C). Edit: APL is a close third, but let's be realistic.

msla 7y ago
APL is the ITS of the programming world: Both are immensely powerful and quirky, and were designed by people with a real allergy to typing. It would be nice if there were an Open Source APL which was the equivalent of SBCL in terms of being the default and feature-complete implementation; it would also be nice if APL were elegant as opposed to merely terse.
Throw_Away_4825 7y ago
>(Common) Lisp usually gets more use than exposure What? It gets exposure on the Internet all the time, while seemingly nearly no one uses it in production. Edit: Just look at the end of [1]. They have exactly three examples. Edit 2: They have more example in [2], but it is still pretty little. [1] https://lisp-lang.org/ https://lisp-lang.org/ [2] https://lisp-lang.org/success/ https://lisp-lang.org/success/
- Smithalicious 7y ago
  This is getting downvoted and I don't see why. CL is easily in the top 10 programming languages I see mentioned on HN and it also comes up regularly outside of HN, yet the amount of people actually using it in production seems miniscule.
  - Throw_Away_7435 7y ago
    Because HN is full of Lisp zealots. (Which may be partially because Paul Graham is also a Lisp zealot.) And there is of course also a selection of people who click on certain threads. Many other platforms are similar in that regard, but from HN I would normally except better. (I am the same person as grand-parent with a different account, btw.)
    - tomhoward 7y ago
      HN being one of the few places online where Lisp enthusiasts can find new Lisp-related content and discuss it with other enthusiasts is very different from HN being "full of Lisp zealots" They're still very much in the minority here.
dang 7y ago
Also 2015: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9785944 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9785944
jammygit 7y ago
I did not realize common lisp was still in use and was therefore planning on learning Clojure instead. Which is better to learn then?
- eschaton 7y ago
  What made you think it was “no longer in use?” It’s a very big world. Just because something isn’t mentioned regularly in headlines doesn’t mean it’s not out there.
- billsix 7y ago
  http://www.paulgraham.com/onlisp.html http://www.paulgraham.com/onlisp.html
  - gilesgate 7y ago
    "On Lisp" is a good book but perhaps too advanced for an introduction, whereas his "ANSI Common Lisp"[0] is better suited to the purpose. Barski's "Land of Lisp" has also received positive feedback.[1] I'd be interested to see what others consider a suitable general learning path for Lisp. [0] http://www.paulgraham.com/acl.html http://www.paulgraham.com/acl.html [1] http://shop.oreilly.com/product/9781593272814.do http://shop.oreilly.com/product/9781593272814.do
    - linfocito 7y ago
      I think this "A Road to Common Lisp" is a very good introductory guide http://stevelosh.com/blog/2018/08/a-road-to-common-lisp/ http://stevelosh.com/blog/2018/08/a-road-to-common-lisp/
    - lispm 7y ago
      The usual starting book is 'Practical Common Lisp' by Peter Seibel. Some advanced stuff then in 'Common Lisp Recipes' by Edi Weitz. Some older advanced stuff with examples: Paradigms of Artificial Intelligence Programming, Cases Studies in Common Lisp (PAIP) by Peter Norvig.
- 7y ago

msla 7y ago

APL is the ITS of the programming world: Both are immensely powerful and quirky, and were designed by people with a real allergy to typing. It would be nice if there were an Open Source APL which was the equivalent of SBCL in terms of being the default and feature-complete implementation; it would also be nice if APL were elegant as opposed to merely terse.

Throw_Away_4825 7y ago

>(Common) Lisp usually gets more use than exposure What? It gets exposure on the Internet all the time, while seemingly nearly no one uses it in production. Edit: Just look at the end of [1]. They have exactly three examples. Edit 2: They have more example in [2], but it is still pretty little. [1] https://lisp-lang.org/ https://lisp-lang.org/ [2] https://lisp-lang.org/success/ https://lisp-lang.org/success/

Smithalicious 7y ago
This is getting downvoted and I don't see why. CL is easily in the top 10 programming languages I see mentioned on HN and it also comes up regularly outside of HN, yet the amount of people actually using it in production seems miniscule.
- Throw_Away_7435 7y ago
  Because HN is full of Lisp zealots. (Which may be partially because Paul Graham is also a Lisp zealot.) And there is of course also a selection of people who click on certain threads. Many other platforms are similar in that regard, but from HN I would normally except better. (I am the same person as grand-parent with a different account, btw.)
  - tomhoward 7y ago
    HN being one of the few places online where Lisp enthusiasts can find new Lisp-related content and discuss it with other enthusiasts is very different from HN being "full of Lisp zealots" They're still very much in the minority here.

dang 7y ago

Also 2015: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9785944 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=9785944

jammygit 7y ago

I did not realize common lisp was still in use and was therefore planning on learning Clojure instead. Which is better to learn then?

eschaton 7y ago
What made you think it was “no longer in use?” It’s a very big world. Just because something isn’t mentioned regularly in headlines doesn’t mean it’s not out there.
billsix 7y ago
http://www.paulgraham.com/onlisp.html http://www.paulgraham.com/onlisp.html
- gilesgate 7y ago
  "On Lisp" is a good book but perhaps too advanced for an introduction, whereas his "ANSI Common Lisp"[0] is better suited to the purpose. Barski's "Land of Lisp" has also received positive feedback.[1] I'd be interested to see what others consider a suitable general learning path for Lisp. [0] http://www.paulgraham.com/acl.html http://www.paulgraham.com/acl.html [1] http://shop.oreilly.com/product/9781593272814.do http://shop.oreilly.com/product/9781593272814.do
  - linfocito 7y ago
    I think this "A Road to Common Lisp" is a very good introductory guide http://stevelosh.com/blog/2018/08/a-road-to-common-lisp/ http://stevelosh.com/blog/2018/08/a-road-to-common-lisp/
  - lispm 7y ago
    The usual starting book is 'Practical Common Lisp' by Peter Seibel. Some advanced stuff then in 'Common Lisp Recipes' by Edi Weitz. Some older advanced stuff with examples: Paradigms of Artificial Intelligence Programming, Cases Studies in Common Lisp (PAIP) by Peter Norvig.
7y ago