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Why Common Lisp Is Now the Best Programming Language

4 hours ago
  • Common Lisp is uniquely suited for LLM-assisted development because its fast feedback loop eliminates long compile/rebuild waits, making iteration quicker.
  • Being image-based, Common Lisp allows live updates to functions without restarting, and errors open a debugger with full context instead of crashing the program.
  • The LLM can directly inspect the debugger, make fixes, and resume execution, accelerating the development cycle.
  • Lisp's code-as-data property and macros let developers extend the language itself, building domain-specific languages tailored to their problems.
  • With LLMs, domain languages become even more valuable because users can modify products via LLMs, and changes align with the product's underlying principles.
  • Common Lisp programs are often 6-7 times more concise than Python equivalents, reducing token usage and costs for LLM-driven development, and fitting more code into context windows.
  • The stability of Common Lisp (ANSI standard since 1994) ensures that user-generated modifications don't break the underlying platform.
  • Although the library ecosystem is smaller, LLMs can easily port or write needed libraries, reducing reliance on bloated, insecure package dependencies.
  • Hiring concerns are mitigated because top engineers can quickly learn Common Lisp, and the language attracts adaptable talent.
  • The author concludes that Common Lisp should be the default choice for programming, especially in the LLM era.