On Lisp, Advanced Techniques for Common LISP

Author(s): Paul Graham
Publication Date: September 1993
ISBN: 0130305529
Paperback: 432 pages
Publisher: Prentice Hall

This book was suggested by pr_tiglao

Book excerpts:

On Lisp is intended for anyone who wants to become a better Lisp programmer. It assumes some familiarity with Lisp, but not necessarily extensive programming experience. The first few chapters contain a fair amount of review. These sections should be interesting to more experienced Lisp programmers as well, because they present familiar subjects in a new light.

It's difficult to convey the essence of a programming language in one sentence, but John Foderaro has come close:

Lisp is a programmable programming language.

There is more to Lisp than this, but the ability to bend Lisp to one's will is a large part of what distinguishes a Lisp expert from a novice. As well as writing their programs down toward the language, experienced Lisp programmers build the language up toward their programs. This book teaches how to program in the bottom-up style for which Lisp is inherently well-suited.

The theme of this book is twofold: that Lisp is a natural language for programs written in the bottom-up style, and that the bottom-up style is a natural way to write Lisp programs. On Lisp will thus be of interest to two classes of readers. For people interested in writing extensible programs, this book will show what you can do if you have the right language. For Lisp programmers, this book offers a practical explanation of how to use Lisp to its best advantage.

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