4 ms·

What are people using LISP for? Other than the Emacs flavor, and some companies using Clojure, I'm not really sure what I'd use it for? Would I use it to repla

by taude 4y ago

What are people using LISP for? Other than the Emacs flavor, and some companies using Clojure, I'm not really sure what I'd use it for? Would I use it to replace Python or Shell scripting for my custom CLI tooling? Anyway, I've seen a lot of people talking about the Lisps lately, and trying to figure out what I'm missing.

llanowarelves 4y ago
You can use Guile Scheme for using Guix so you get a more transferrable language for your reproducible OS/package manager instead of Nix/Nix Language.
vindarel 4y ago
Some companies: https://github.com/azzamsa/awesome-lisp-companies/ https://github.com/azzamsa/awesome-lisp-companies/ An interview: https://lisp-journey.gitlab.io/blog/lisp-interview-kina/ https://lisp-journey.gitlab.io/blog/lisp-interview-kina/ Hint: all Quantum computing companies, Google for ITA Software, the NASA for James-Webb's planning and scheduling system, smaller companies (Kina), solo devs that find they are more productive than in Python (like myself).
mikelevins 4y ago
I've used it for a lot of stuff over the years: a constraint-based GUI framework, a knowledge-based automated testing system that ran tests remotely on fleets of target machines, a model-building-by-demonstration system for the aforementioned testing system, an experimental operating system for Apple hardware, a direct-manipulation rapid-application-development system, a WYSIWIG programmable word processor, an artificial life simulator, a help and online-documentation compiler, a commercial graph database, a full-stack embedded control system with GUI for a forensic fingerprint-scanning machine, a syntax-aware diff program for code, a series of name and vocabulary generators for use in fiction and games, a list manager, several versions of a Lisp interpreter and compiler, a file-browsing program, several games, a knowledge-based machine-control program for laser-sintering machines, an anomaly-discovery system for various kinds of data, and a radar image analysis and classification system. Plus a whole bunch of supporting libraries, tools, and random toys. I've used it in preference to anything else since 1988. Lisp is an exotic niche option in the programming language space, so a Lisper needs to be prepared to work in other languages, and I often have. I've been fortunate, though, in that I've been able to work mainly in Lisp for more than half my career since 1988. I use it every day in my current job (working on the radar stuff and some other projects at the same employer).
ravi-delia 4y ago
Truth is lisps don't have a whole lot of market power. I use CL for medium size scripts and CLI tooling, as well as a lot of tools which need to do a lot of crunching but don't have any significant UI component. I wouldn't wish my codebase on my worst enemy, but the libraries I've built up fit me like a glove, so it's perfect for rapid coding only I need to deal with.
wtetzner 4y ago
You can use it for whatever you want. It's a general purpose programming language.
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by taude 4y ago

llanowarelves 4y ago

You can use Guile Scheme for using Guix so you get a more transferrable language for your reproducible OS/package manager instead of Nix/Nix Language.

vindarel 4y ago

Some companies: https://github.com/azzamsa/awesome-lisp-companies/ https://github.com/azzamsa/awesome-lisp-companies/ An interview: https://lisp-journey.gitlab.io/blog/lisp-interview-kina/ https://lisp-journey.gitlab.io/blog/lisp-interview-kina/ Hint: all Quantum computing companies, Google for ITA Software, the NASA for James-Webb's planning and scheduling system, smaller companies (Kina), solo devs that find they are more productive than in Python (like myself).

mikelevins 4y ago

I've used it for a lot of stuff over the years: a constraint-based GUI framework, a knowledge-based automated testing system that ran tests remotely on fleets of target machines, a model-building-by-demonstration system for the aforementioned testing system, an experimental operating system for Apple hardware, a direct-manipulation rapid-application-development system, a WYSIWIG programmable word processor, an artificial life simulator, a help and online-documentation compiler, a commercial graph database, a full-stack embedded control system with GUI for a forensic fingerprint-scanning machine, a syntax-aware diff program for code, a series of name and vocabulary generators for use in fiction and games, a list manager, several versions of a Lisp interpreter and compiler, a file-browsing program, several games, a knowledge-based machine-control program for laser-sintering machines, an anomaly-discovery system for various kinds of data, and a radar image analysis and classification system. Plus a whole bunch of supporting libraries, tools, and random toys. I've used it in preference to anything else since 1988. Lisp is an exotic niche option in the programming language space, so a Lisper needs to be prepared to work in other languages, and I often have. I've been fortunate, though, in that I've been able to work mainly in Lisp for more than half my career since 1988. I use it every day in my current job (working on the radar stuff and some other projects at the same employer).

ravi-delia 4y ago

Truth is lisps don't have a whole lot of market power. I use CL for medium size scripts and CLI tooling, as well as a lot of tools which need to do a lot of crunching but don't have any significant UI component. I wouldn't wish my codebase on my worst enemy, but the libraries I've built up fit me like a glove, so it's perfect for rapid coding only I need to deal with.

wtetzner 4y ago

You can use it for whatever you want. It's a general purpose programming language.

deleted 4y ago
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