Lisp (3rd Edition) (Paperback)

~ Patrick Winston (Author), Berthold Horn (Author)

Editorial Reviews

Product Description

This third edition is a revised and expanded version of Winston and Horn's best-selling introduction to the Lisp programming language and to Lisp-based applications, many of which are possible as a result of advances in Artificial Intelligence technology. The Knowledge You Need The new edition retains the broad coverage of previous editions that has made this book popular both with beginners and with more advanced readers -- coverage ranging from the basics of the language to detailed examples showing Lisp in practice. Based on the CommonLisp standard, this book also introduces CommonLisp's object system, CLOS, and the productivity-promoting techniques enabled by object-oriented programming. Application examples drawn from expert systems, natural language interfaces, and symbolic mathematics are featured, and new applications dealing with probability bounds, project simulation, and visual object recognition are introduced. Special Features of this Edition *Based on extensive teaching experience *Explains key problem solving paradigms, such as search, forward chaining, and problem reduction *Discusses constraint propagation, backward chaining, and key ideas in Prolog *Emphasizes procedure and data abstraction, and other points of programming style and practice *Covers cliches, mapping, streams, delayed evaluation, and techniques for better and faster procedure definition 0201083191B04062001

From the Back Cover

version of Winston and Horn's best-selling introduction to the Lisp programming language and to Lisp-based applications, many of which are possible as a result of advances in Artificial Intelligence technology.

The Knowledge You Need

The new edition retains the broad coverage of previous editions that has made this book popular both with beginners and with more advanced readers -- coverage ranging from the basics of the language to detailed examples showing Lisp in practice. Based on the CommonLisp standard, this book also introduces CommonLisp's object system, CLOS, and the productivity-promoting techniques enabled by object-oriented programming.

Application examples drawn from expert systems, natural language interfaces, and symbolic mathematics are featured, and new applications dealing with probability bounds, project simulation, and visual object recognition are introduced.

Special Features of this Edition

• Based on extensive teaching experience
• Explains key problem solving paradigms, such as search, forward chaining, and problem reduction
• Discusses constraint propagation, backward chaining, and key ideas in Prolog
• Emphasizes procedure and data abstraction, and other points of programming style and practice
• Covers cliches, mapping, streams, delayed evaluation, and techniques for better and faster procedure definition

0201083191B04062001

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Product Details

• Paperback: 611 pages
• Publisher: Addison Wesley; 3 edition (January 11, 1989)
• Language: English
• ISBN-10: 0201083191
• ISBN-13: 978-0201083194
• Product Dimensions: 9.1 x 7.2 x 1.4 inches
• Shipping Weight: 2.3 pounds (View shipping rates and policies)
• Average Customer Review: 3.9 out of 5 stars  See all reviews (13 customer reviews)
• Amazon.com Sales Rank: #170,101 in Books (See Bestsellers in Books)

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Customer Reviews

Most Helpful Customer Reviews

37 of 38 people found the following review helpful:

4.0 out of 5 stars Old but still very good, July 9, 2003

By	James Arvo (Pasadena, CA USA) - See all my reviews (REAL NAME)

Winston and Horn's "Lisp" is an old chestnut. It has stuck around, undergone several editions, and remains in print for a reason; it's a very clear and thorough introduction to programming in Lisp (and, beginning with the 2nd edition, it is specifically about Common Lisp, the most widely adopted dialect of Lisp). In fact, it's probably the best introduction to Lisp there is; yet it's not the right book for every beginning Lisp programmer.

This book is apparently intended for programmers who are not only new to Lisp, but fairly new to programming in general. Consequently, it would not be the ideal book for a seasoned programmer who already knows multiple languages and simply wants to learn one more. I suspect that such a person would find this book a bit on the pedantic side, as it covers basic concepts at length. A better place to start for experienced programmers would probably be Paul Graham's fine book "ANSI Common Lisp", or perhaps even, "Lisp in Small Pieces" by Christian Queinnec, which covers interpreters and compilers in addition to Lisp programming. If you are looking for a very complete reference on Common Lisp (as opposed to Scheme), then Guy Steele's book "Common Lisp, The Language" is the right choice; it's another old chestnut. Finally, if you are not set on Common Lisp, you may want to consider "Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs", by Abelson, Sussman, and Sussman, which is a Scheme classic.

Winston & Horn's book has some very nice features. It not only covers all the basics, it also covers CLOS, the "Common Lisp Object System", which is to Common Lisp what C++ is to C; that is, it is an addition to Common Lisp (essentially a "layer") that allows the programmer to define classes, sub-classes (with inheritance), and methods. In my opinion, CLOS is by far the most compelling reason to use Common Lisp rather than Scheme. Winston & Horn also do an admirable job of explaining both "lexical" and "dynamic" scoping, with the former being the most important. In fact, it is essential to understand "lexical closures" before one can write effective Lisp programs, which is why Winston & Horn devote so much attention to them, even developing a kind of graphical representation for them.

Over all, this is a fine introduction to Common Lisp, and programming in general. It's an oldie but a goodie.

15 of 15 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars Up and down, August 15, 1999

By A Customer

For a beginner, the first 15 or so chapters of this book are a good introduction to Common Lisp. After that, however, it shifts gears and turns into an AI book that uses Lisp. Perhaps this is not surprising since it was written by two gents from MIT's famed AI Lab, but I was interested in learning Lisp, not AI. I really think that the last half should have focused on the parts of CL that were skipped in the begining.

8 of 8 people found the following review helpful:

3.0 out of 5 stars For a limited audience., January 9, 2004

By A Customer

Review for 2cd edition: I would recommend this book only to people who haven't seen Lisp at all and are fairly new to programming in general. To be brief:
- not a language reference
- of little use to people who already have some Lisp experience
- not a model for learning finer points of lisp programming style
- not a 'how does lisp really work'- building interpreters and compilers book.
The book is regarded as a classic of sorts, but I didnt feel there was anything particularly outstanding about it, though it is well written. The first half covers basic programming and the rest is a series of applications/examples, mostly AI-ish stuff. Some of these later chapters are interesting, some lame, and a few feel a little outdated. I felt the discussion of lexical/dynamic scoping was very poor (perhaps the 3rd edition has improved this), and in general the book tries to ignore or brush off the more complicated (but very important) issues in lisp. The chapter on object-oriented programming was written before OOP became popular and more standardized. The final chapter on lisp interpreters (in lisp) was much too short. But it looks like a fine place to start learning Lisp, though you will quickly need additional books (and you may want to consider Scheme instead of Common Lisp).