On Lisp: Advanced Techniques for Common Lisp [Perfect Paperback]

Paul Graham (Author)

Book Description

Publication Date: September 9, 1993

Written by a LISP expert, this is the most comprehensive tutorial available on the advanced LISP features and programming techniques. It shows how to program in the bottom-up style that is ideal for LISP programming, and includes a unique, practical collection of LISP programming techniques that shows how to take advantage of the languages design for highly efficient programming in a wide variety of (non-artificial intelligence) applications.* uses an innovative bottom-up approach to programming in LISP - an approach that is ideally suited to LISP and especially effective in dealing with unusually large or difficult programs. * offers a complete tutorial on valuable LISP macros and LISP macro programming techniques, including practical advice on when - and when not - to use macros. * shows how to put Lisp macros to work in a variety of real applications. * explains what makes LISP different from other languages - how to do in LISP what cant be done - or done easily - in other languages. * begins with two comprehensive chapters on functions and shows how to use functions to extend LISP. * covers embedded languages, showing how to use LISP for a database application and how to build a programming environment on top of LISP. * covers object-oriented programming and advanced data structures. * contains hundreds of working examples - ranging from single expressions to a working Prolog implementation.

Editorial Reviews

Amazon.com Review

Perhaps the author gives the best description of this book: "On Lisp deals mostly with the kinds of programs you could only write in Lisp." The book provides extensive information on the advanced features of Lisp, which are not found in other popular programming languages. After showing how flexibly functions can be manipulated, On Lisp moves on to the best discussion of macros available, which includes details of the possible pitfalls (various referential bugs, for example). The book concludes with a demonstration of various advanced constructs that can be implemented in Lisp using the tools developed in the earlier part of the book. As with his other book, ANSI Common Lisp, Graham writes in a fluid style that is a pleasure to read.

From the Publisher

Written by a LISP expert, this is the most comprehensive tutorial available on the advanced LISP features and programming techniques. It shows how to program in the bottom-up style that is ideal for LISP programming, and includes a unique, practical collection of LISP programming techniques that shows how to take advantage of the language's design for highly efficient programming in a wide variety of (non-artificial intelligence) applications.

See all Editorial Reviews

Product Details

• Perfect Paperback: 413 pages
• Publisher: Prentice Hall; 1st edition (September 9, 1993)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0130305529
• ISBN-13: 978-0130305527
• Product Dimensions: 8.9 x 5.9 x 0.7 inches
• Shipping Weight: 1.1 pounds
• Average Customer Review: 4.6 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (14 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #1,224,112 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #35 in Books > Computers & Technology > Programming > Languages & Tools > Lisp

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

117 of 118 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Read this book, May 8, 2000

By 

Peter Norvig (Palo Alto, CA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: On Lisp: Advanced Techniques for Common Lisp (Perfect Paperback)

When I find something really interesting in a book that I want to remember later, I write the page number on the end page. A good book might get 5 to 10 page numbers so noted. My copy of On Lisp has 25. Now, not every one of the 25 contains something I agree completely with, but they all made me think. If you're experienced at Lisp, you'll find a similar number of thought-provoking ideas, and if you're new to Lisp, you'll find a whole new way of looking at programming (and you'll find that you can apply the new ideas to other languages as well).

Looking at Graham's code felt like reading my own code masterfully translated, say, from Danish to Swedish. A lot of the ideas are the same, some of the old friends had new names, and there were some new friends that I had never bothered to abstract and name, but recognized instantly once Graham did so (e.g. mapcars, fn).

Along with the ideas, I admire the many handy turns of phrase that make the book a real page-turner:

"It used to be thought that you could judge someone's character by looking at the shape of his head. Whether or not this is true for people, it is generally true of Lisp programs."

"The classic Common Lisp defmacro is like a cook's knife: an elegant idea which seems dangerous, but which experts use with confidence."

"Lisp is not inherently about processing lists any more than Polo shirts are for Polo" (Note that the sentence would have been a little confusing if Graham had written "list processing" rather than "processing lists". In Graham's prose, like his code, every word counts. Time and again I can only say "I wish I had thought of that.")

84 of 85 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars It is available (legally) for free download, June 14, 2003

By 

KY Bike Rider (USA) - See all my reviews

This review is from: On Lisp: Advanced Techniques for Common Lisp (Perfect Paperback)

Go to paul graham's website and download this book for free now. You'll be happy you did.

22 of 22 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars Be a better programmer, not just a better Lisp programmer, June 25, 2002

By A Customer

This review is from: On Lisp: Advanced Techniques for Common Lisp (Perfect Paperback)

There are dozens of programming texts that I recommend to people who want to understand various topics. There are only a small handful that I recommend to programmers who aren't using the tool or language that the book covers. This is one of those books. It requires a prior knowledge of Lisp, but not expert knowledge. Paul Graham rewards his readers with a much deeper understanding of the merits of Lisp and how to take advantage of the power it provides.

Paul Graham has commented on his web site ..., "It seems to me that there have been two really clean, consistent models of programming so far: the C model and the Lisp model. These two seem points of high ground, with swampy lowlands between them. As computers have grown more powerful, the new languages being developed have been moving steadily toward the Lisp model." I read that comment before I read On Lisp. It was fresh in my mind at the time, and I saw some of the features of Lisp in C++ and Java. Graham cites runtime type checking and garbage collection, but there are subtler features that appear in the C++ STL. When he described using macros to create functions as needed, his examples immediately brought to mind some of the templates for various "helper" classes; pair, for example. But he could equally well be talking about some of the classes in the Java runtime that are designed to be derived from. The bottom line is that this book is an excellent tutorial on good library design. It teaches by example the philosophy behind creating libraries that extend your language, either in general ways or specifically for the problem domain.

Paul Graham handles Lisp lovingly as an expert craftsman. An observant reader can learn a great deal about craftsmanship from his book. Eric Raymond stated in his essay How To Become A Hacker, "LISP is worth learning for a different reason - the profound enlightenment experience you will have when you finally get it. That experience will make you a better programmer for the rest of your days, even if you never actually use LISP itself a lot." Mr. Graham has commented about this specific quote wondering why anyone would learn about a great tool and then not use it. Lisp in general and this book specifically are an answer to that question. Lisp is not a single language. It is a family of languages that share a common philosophy and a core. Once you learn what gives Lisp its power, you can choose to enhance any tools you use with some measure of that power.