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Common Lisp, ASDF, and Quicklisp: packaging explained

2 days ago
https://cdegroot.com/programming/commonlisp/2025/11/26/cl-ql-asdf.html
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  • #ASDF
  • #Common Lisp
  • #Quicklisp
  • Common Lisp's file handling is basic due to its age and need for cross-platform compatibility, using 'namestrings' and 'pathnames'.
  • LOAD and COMPILE-FILE are standard functions for loading and compiling Lisp files, with implementation-specific behaviors.
  • Packages in Common Lisp are namespaces for symbols, not to be confused with software packages or libraries.
  • ASDF (Another System Definition Facility) is a de facto standard for defining and managing Lisp systems (libraries) and their dependencies.
  • Quicklisp is an add-on to ASDF that simplifies downloading and managing Lisp libraries from the internet.
  • ASDF and Quicklisp do not automatically recognize projects in the current directory; symlinks to standard locations are needed.
  • Package-inferred-system in ASDF simplifies system definitions by treating each file as both a package and a system.
  • UIOP (Utilities for Implementation- and OS- Portability) is a useful package included with ASDF for writing portable Lisp code.
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