What would the best Common Lisp reference manual for the working
programmer be? Some suggestions from the FAQ:
The ANSI standard document.
CLtL2.
Common Lisp: the Reference.
Common Lisp, the Index.
From: Christopher C. Stacy
Subject: Re: Common Lisp reference manual
Date:
Message-ID: <uvg9864ut.fsf@grant.org>
>>>>> On 28 May 2002 08:43:23 +0200, Lars Brinkhoff ("Lars") writes:
Lars> What would the best Common Lisp reference manual for the working
Lars> programmer be? Some suggestions from the FAQ:
Lars> The ANSI standard document.
The ANSI standard is most easily used by accessing the HyperSpec.
Lars> CLtL2.
Lars> Common Lisp: the Reference.
Lars> Common Lisp, the Index.
CLtL2 is just the original "Common Lisp" book with change bars.
The original CLtL1 documented the original (pre-ANSI) Common Lisp.
Unfortunately, the changed material in CLtL2 is not reliable because
it does not necessarily correspond to or agree with the ANSI standard.
(It is not about any existing Common Lisp. It's a snapshot of what
some of the thinking was at an arbitrary and inconsistent point in the
ANSI process. Some things were susbequently totally changed from CLtL2.)
I use and enjoy my copy, but I know that at any point what I am reading
is quite possibly wrong.
Assuming that you already know Common Lisp (or at least some Lisp)
to some degree, I would recommend these three:
The Hyperspec, which is a correct reference.
"Object-Oriented Programming in Common Lisp" [Keene] which has both
reference and tutorial information on CLOS.
CLtL2 (as a historical document) which contains some good examples
and discussion, which may be seriously incorrect in many places but
which is very good background reading.
Some of the textbooks (esp. Norvig) might be useful to you, too.
* Lars Brinkhoff
| What would the best Common Lisp reference manual for the working
| programmer be?
If you are not intimately familiar with the Standard, as in the (Xanalys)
HyperSpec, you are simply not a professional Common Lisp. (Franz Inc
also has a version of the standard with a very different visual appeal --
I have recently heard people who much prefer it, so it ought to be
mentioned.) I actually think a serious, professional programmer has a
copy of the actual standards relevant for his work, either in the company
library or a personal copy.
Languages have specifications. Applications have documentation. Good
programmers read the specification. Good users read the documentation.
--
In a fight against something, the fight has value, victory has none.
In a fight for something, the fight is a loss, victory merely relief.
70 percent of American adults do not understand the scientific process.
Erik Naggum <····@naggum.net> wrote:
+---------------
| ...the Standard, as in the (Xanalys) HyperSpec... (Franz Inc also has
| a version of the standard with a very different visual appeal -- I have
| recently heard people who much prefer it, so it ought to be mentioned.)
+---------------
Interesting. Yes, a very different look, somewhat "cleaner"(?)
feeling perhaps, though I suspect a lot of that is probably just
the white background versus the default gray of the Xanalys version.
[Hmmm... The Franz version seems to be missing a few links here & there.
E.g., on page "2.1.4.1 Constituent Characters", the Xanalys version
contains a link at the bottom to "2.1.4.2 Constituent Traits", a link
missing in the Franz version -- though both of them do go to "2.1.4.2
Constituent Traits" when the "next-in-sequence" button is clicked.]
I like to keep a copy of the CLHS on my laptop for easy reference
when off-net. Does anyone know if the whole Franz version is available
for download (e.g., as a tarball) the way the Xanalys HyperSpec is?
I browsed around the Franz site for a while, but couldn't find anything.
But I admit I could easily have overlooked it. [The "download" link to
"HyperSpec-6-0.tar.gz" isn't all that easy to find on the Xanalys site,
either...]
-Rob
-----
Rob Warnock, 30-3-510 <····@sgi.com>
SGI Network Engineering <http://reality.sgiweb.org/rpw3/>
1600 Amphitheatre Pkwy. Phone: 650-933-1673
Mountain View, CA 94043 PP-ASEL-IA
[Note: ·········@sgi.com and ········@sgi.com aren't for humans ]
* Cristina Ghirlanda
| I found a file acl61doc.zip (12.7MB) on hard disk, but I don't remember
| from where I downloaded.
Take a look at http://franz.com/support/documentation/ There is a link
both for the ACL 6.1 documentation and the ANSI Specification there.
--
In a fight against something, the fight has value, victory has none.
In a fight for something, the fight is a loss, victory merely relief.
70 percent of American adults do not understand the scientific process.
Erik Naggum <····@naggum.net> wrote:
+---------------
| * Cristina Ghirlanda
| | I found a file acl61doc.zip (12.7MB) on hard disk, but I don't remember
| | from where I downloaded.
|
| Take a look at http://franz.com/support/documentation/ There is a link
| both for the ACL 6.1 documentation and the ANSI Specification there.
+---------------
True, but the link to the ANSI spec is only to the on-line version,
<URL:http://franz.com/support/documentation/6.1/ansicl/ansicl.htm>,
not a downloadable tarball of the whole thing. [Yes, I suppose one
could run a webcrawler over it, but I consider that impolite at best.]
Oh, I see now. Their version of the ANSI spec is *included* within
the ACL 6.1 zip (or tarball). Oops. "Never mind..."
-Rob
-----
Rob Warnock, 30-3-510 <····@sgi.com>
SGI Network Engineering <http://reality.sgiweb.org/rpw3/>
1600 Amphitheatre Pkwy. Phone: 650-933-1673
Mountain View, CA 94043 PP-ASEL-IA
[Note: ·········@sgi.com and ········@sgi.com aren't for humans ]