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A lot of people write Lisp interpreters, post it to HN and call it a day, but I think compilation is the far more interesting task for a Lisp implementation. S

A lot of people write Lisp interpreters, post it to HN and call it a day, but I think compilation is the far more interesting task for a Lisp implementation. SBCL is great to poke around in and the decompiler’s great. Also check out ABCL, ECL for what compilation to JVM bytecode and C looks like.

mtreis86 2y ago
The scheme compiler in Paradigms of Artificial Intelligence Programming by Peter Norvig is a great introduction to compiling Lisp. I was particularly impressed by it only taking a change in one line to go from regular recursion to handling tail call optimization.
fooker 2y ago
This is a bit Haskell oriented, but the "Implementation of Functional Programming Languages" by SPJ is one of my all time favorite books. https://simon.peytonjones.org/slpj-book-1987/ https://simon.peytonjones.org/slpj-book-1987/ These compilers were pulling heroic data structure optimization stunts in 1985, that no modern production compiler for major compiled languages can replicate in 2024.
- thewakalix 2y ago
  Why? Is it mostly because of Haskell's purity (side-effect-freeness), so optimizations can change expressions more freely and safely?
  - fooker 2y ago
    That, and the uniform s-expr/gadt representation of data structures instead of going wild with clever pointers.
    - dmytrish 2y ago
      I am not sure I understand what you mean in the context of Haskell.
      - fooker 2y ago
        https://wiki.haskell.org/GADTs_for_dummies https://wiki.haskell.org/GADTs_for_dummies
- nxobject 2y ago
  Huh – I didn't know he'd left MSR for Epic Games.
  - nequo 2y ago
    He did. He’s working on a new language called Verse now: https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/uefn/verse-language-reference https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/uefn/verse-lan...
    - fooker 2y ago
      Huh interesting. The language seems sort of complicated for the domain (gameplay scripting).
deleted 2y ago
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mtreis86 2y ago

The scheme compiler in Paradigms of Artificial Intelligence Programming by Peter Norvig is a great introduction to compiling Lisp. I was particularly impressed by it only taking a change in one line to go from regular recursion to handling tail call optimization.

fooker 2y ago

This is a bit Haskell oriented, but the "Implementation of Functional Programming Languages" by SPJ is one of my all time favorite books. https://simon.peytonjones.org/slpj-book-1987/ https://simon.peytonjones.org/slpj-book-1987/ These compilers were pulling heroic data structure optimization stunts in 1985, that no modern production compiler for major compiled languages can replicate in 2024.

thewakalix 2y ago
Why? Is it mostly because of Haskell's purity (side-effect-freeness), so optimizations can change expressions more freely and safely?
- fooker 2y ago
  That, and the uniform s-expr/gadt representation of data structures instead of going wild with clever pointers.
  - dmytrish 2y ago
    I am not sure I understand what you mean in the context of Haskell.
    - fooker 2y ago
      https://wiki.haskell.org/GADTs_for_dummies https://wiki.haskell.org/GADTs_for_dummies
nxobject 2y ago
Huh – I didn't know he'd left MSR for Epic Games.
- nequo 2y ago
  He did. He’s working on a new language called Verse now: https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/uefn/verse-language-reference https://dev.epicgames.com/documentation/en-us/uefn/verse-lan...
  - fooker 2y ago
    Huh interesting. The language seems sort of complicated for the domain (gameplay scripting).

deleted 2y ago

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