Object-Oriented Programming in Common Lisp: A Programmer's Guide to CLOS [Paperback]

Sonya E. Keene (Author)

Product Details

• Paperback: 288 pages
• Publisher: Addison-Wesley Professional; 1 edition (January 11, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0201175894
• ISBN-13: 978-0201175899
• Product Dimensions: 9.2 x 6.3 x 0.6 inches
• Shipping Weight: 10.4 ounces (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 4.7 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (6 customer reviews)
• Amazon Best Sellers Rank: #165,112 in Books (See Top 100 in Books)
  • #6 in Books > Computers & Technology > Programming > Languages & Tools > Lisp

More About the Author

Discover books, learn about writers, read author blogs, and more.

Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

10 of 10 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Concise, clear and readable, an excellent introduction, July 16, 2006

By 

Thing with a hook - See all my reviews

This review is from: Object-Oriented Programming in Common Lisp: A Programmer's Guide to CLOS (Paperback)

Lisp is kinda hot again, Perl 6 will have multiple dispatch, Ruby's getting before and after methods, and Aspect Oriented Programming is still bubbling under in Java, so what better time to revisit the Common Lisp Object System and this slim volume from 1989? Unsurprisingly, objects in Lisp are implemented differently to the well-known object systems, even Smalltalk, so if you're into OO (and in particular AOP), check out CLOS.

And this book is an excellent way to get acquainted with the features of CLOS. While the introduction suggests non-Lispniks can benefit from reading this book, I would strongly suggest you can read Lisp to make sure you understand what's going on. It's a quick read (about 220 pages, excluding the appendices), the language is unfussy and clear, and the concepts are simply explained.

The hoary old shape example is used briefly (perhaps it wasn't as tired in 1989), but the two main examples used in the book is a simple locking mechanism for concurrency, and multiple inheritance based disk and tape stream classes. Both example do the job well of highlighting the unique flavour of CLOS. The metaobject protocol is touched upon only briefly, but there's more than enough of the standard object protocol described for you to be getting your money's worth.

Other introductory books do cover CLOS (Practical Common Lisp has a good chapter), but this is a very nice standalone volume devoted to CLOS only. Well worth reading, object (and Lisp) fans.

14 of 16 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars A good way to understand "why CLOS?", June 18, 2002

By 

Christopher B. Browne "cbbrowne" (Scarborough, Ontario, Canada) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Object-Oriented Programming in Common Lisp: A Programmer's Guide to CLOS (Paperback)

This is a nice "tutorial style" walk through much of the functionality of CLOS.

It doesn't get into examples that are of _spectacular_ complexity, either in size or in difficulty of concept, but that strikes me as being just fine. The dialect of CLOS in use predates the final version that was released, so a few examples require a little modification to work with modern Lisp releases.

If you're looking to get into the sophistication of redefining your own metaobject protocols, the MOP book is surely more suitable. But for most of us who just need to figure out what CLOS is good for, this book provides a very nice presentation of that.

3 of 3 people found the following review helpful:

5.0 out of 5 stars THE book on object-oriented programming in Common Lisp, September 5, 2009

By 

Daniel Weinreb (Lexington, MA USA) - See all my reviews
(REAL NAME)   

This review is from: Object-Oriented Programming in Common Lisp: A Programmer's Guide to CLOS (Paperback)

Sonya Keene is one of the very best technical writers in the entire computer industry, and she was one of the inner circle of experts who designed and standardized the Common Lisp Object System. This book is crystal clear, accurate, and comprehensive.