Old Lisp (2018)
2 days ago
- #Programming Languages
- #Software Development
- #Lisp
- Clozure CL, a descendant of Coral Common Lisp, has survived over 30 years, adapting to changing processor architectures and operating systems.
- The talk highlights the resilience and enduring ideas of Lisp, comparing it to Fortran, which has changed significantly over time.
- Clozure CL's development history includes transitions from Coral Common Lisp to OpenMCL, and eventually to its current form, with contributions from various individuals and organizations.
- The implementation supports multiple processor architectures (x86, ARM) and operating systems, though Windows support is weaker due to less developer focus.
- Clozure CL features a fast compiler, native threads, and a unique garbage collector that compacts memory by moving objects.
- The foreign-function interface (FFI) in Clozure CL allows calling C code and parsing C headers, with ongoing work to modernize the tooling.
- Future directions for Clozure CL include potential ports to ARM64, compiler improvements, and a modern macOS IDE.
- The talk emphasizes the value of Common Lisp's interactive nature, macro system, and standardized functionality across implementations.
- Clozure CL is open for community contributions, with resources like GitHub, a Freenode channel, and mailing lists available for collaboration.
- The speaker advocates for optimism about Lisp's future, citing its influence on other languages and the creativity it enables in programming.