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It's good to have a quick reference and this is the best one available for CL. For a CL hacker, it's also invaluable to learn how to parse the full CL spec.
by zachbeane 15y ago
It's good to have a quick reference and this is the best one available for CL.
For a CL hacker, it's also invaluable to learn how to parse the full CL spec.
- ken 15y agoWhen you say "the full CL spec", which one are you using? The $30 PDF from ANSI (I've heard it's just a poor scan of a printout!), or the submitted drafts of it floating around, or the Hyperspec, or Guy Steele's book? From what I've seen, they all have essentially the same content. Each has its strengths (there's no hyperlinks to "click" on the paper pages of CLTL2, while the Hyperspec is missing Steele's humorous examples), and some have minor mistakes that others don't, but I can't recall any case where I've been unable to figure something out from just reading one of them.
- zachbeane 15y agoI primarily use the HyperSpec. CLtL2 is more amusing but less rigorous. Since the prose is more fun, and since it's a physical book, it's easier to read cover-to-cover, but I would not recommend it as a reference. I'd love to make a new physical book from the ANSI draft sources, but I don't think that will happen any time soon.