Customer Reviews (1)

The only Symbolics book you'll need outside of DocEx.
Symbolics Lisp Machines running Genera have possibly the most complete online manuals of any operating system ever made.They are excruciatinglydetailed, erudite, exact, and best of all are completely searchable andbrowsable.So one may ask why a Lisp Machine user might ever need a bookoutside of the Document Examiner?Well, despite the vast amount ofdocumentation and the fantastic interactive searching and browsingcapabilities of the online documentation, a new user can barely hope tolearn anything from them because they are entirely too detailed andcomplex.Symbolics helpfully provides some simplistic teaching manuals butit's often very difficult to keep switching back and forth between DocExand the Dynamic Lisp Listener or Zmacs.There's also a fairly large gapbetween the exercises provided in the Genera docs for a new user to becomefamiliar with the system, and for a programmer to start writing newsoftware.That's where this book comes in.

Although the book wasoriginally written for Genera 7 it is still in most ways very up to date. It provides simple examples of using the Genera system, and how to getaround in the network.More importantly it provides lots of informationand examples of writing both simple and complex software for Genera.Toyprograms are given, along with intricate programs using most of theadvanced features of the Genera environment.One of the more entertainingexamples is a Solitaire program.Exercises are given at the end of eachchapter, and every exercise is well tuned to the expected knowledge of thereader as they progress through the chapters.

The only drawback of thebook is that it is somewhat out of date. Instead of object-orientedprogramming with CLOS, available in Genera 8, the book gives examples inNew Flavors, which was superseded by CLOS but is still heavily used in theinternals of Genera.New Flavors is however a generic function style of OOprogramming, which isn't too far from that of CLOS, although the messagepassing paradigm of Old Flavors is still evident.Other advanced featuresof Genera only available in the more modern releases of this decade areuncovered in this book as well.

All in all, a fantastic book for anyonewho works with Symbolics Lisp Machines to have around.Unquestionably theideal book to learn the system from and to learn the feel of programming inGenera.Users of other flavors of Lisp Machines may also find it helpful,although the book is unashamedly biased towards Symbolics systems. ... Read more

Product Description
LISP, which stands for LISt Processing, was developed in the late 1950s by John McCarthy as a language for manipulating symbols. This book presents the Common LISP Language, a version of LISP, and details a range of applications for it, including data structures, computer systems, and compiler design.This book presents a tutorial introduction to Common LISP, coverign lists and trees, recursion, local vs. global reference, characters and strings, streams, LAMDA and LABELS, control, debugging, macros, structures, classes and objects, vectors and arrays, and efficiency and compilation.For programmers interested in a language with simple syntax, extensive adaptability and advanced memory management. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

Disappointing
I'd bought a copy of Keene, because I'd heard it was good, but ended up being a bit disappointed with it.So when I saw Slade's book, I wondered if this was the CLOS book I'd been looking for.Short answer: no, it's worse.

It's not even clear what the book is trying to teach: programming, or Lisp, or object-oriented programming, or CLOS.He seems to be trying to do all of the above, but due to the huge scope, being unable to go deep into anything.He starts chapters with irrelevant quotes, which works if you're Knuth, but he's no Knuth.He jumps around a lot, and the order is bizarre: several important concepts are held off until relatively late.Other big concepts are mentioned only in passing, which an experienced Lisper will understand, but then, if you already know what he means, why would you read this book?

No surprise that I'd not heard of this book: in a field of classics, there's just no point.If you want to learn programming, read SICP.If you want to learn Common Lisp (with lots of sample code), read PCL, or PAIP.If you want to learn CLOS, read AMOP; if that's too rough, get Keene.

The back cover mentions "classroom experience", so perhaps it's written to accompany a course taught by Slade.If you had a couple hours of lecture to flush out the details of each section, it might be passable.If you're reading it as a standalone book, it leaves much to be desired.

Finally, the back cover advertises that this book "introduces advanced concepts such as LAMDA".Yes, it misspells one of the basic Lisp symbols right on the cover.That's all you really need to know about this book.Stick with the classics.

Not a bad introduction for the beginner, but very poorly titled.
The book has one chapter on CLOS, the Common Lisp Object System, pretty much the same as any other Lisp tutorial.As such, the title is very misleading, and the reader expecting an in-depth treatment of object-oriented programming in Common Lisp will be very disappointed.This book isn't bad, but Peter Seibel's excellent Practical Common Lisp is better in pretty much every respect.If you still want a dedicated book on CLOS, Sonya Keene's "Object Oriented Programming in Common Lisp" is a much better tutorial, and Kiczales' "The Art of the Metaobject Protocol" is a wonderful treatment of the CLOS internals, though not for the faint of heart.

Lucky for me I checked out this book...
While taking a course in AI, I was recommended by the professor to buy the Winston and Horn book which I did.However, lucky for me, I had checked out Dr. Slade's book from the library.Everytime a programming project came around, if I needed to figure out how to do something, I always turned to Object-Oriented Common Lisp.Why?Because if I couldn't figure out how to do something from Winston and Horn, I usually found it in this book (not that Winston and Horn is a bad book, just this book seems much better).If you need to know how to get something done in Lisp, I think this is the book for you.If you want to be an AI snob well then get the other book.

Very good beginner's tutorial
This is a great introduction to Common Lisp for those who are looking for a complete, tutorial-style text book with lots of examples. This is the most under-appreciated Lisp book I know of. This is not the end of the journey, of course. Graham's books make a good follow-up.

The natural companion to Steele's Common Lisp, the language
Lisp provides an incredible amount of programming concepts. All theconcepts are described in Steele's monumental "Common Lisp, thelanguage" or the newer hypertext version on the web. The one gripe Ihave with Steele's book is that it lacks examples. Sthepen Slade providesall the examples of common usage that Steel might have provided. ... Read more

Product Description
Written by a Lisp expert, this is the most comprehensive tutorial on the advanced features of Lisp for experienced programmers. It shows how to program in the bottom-up style that is ideal for Lisp programming, and includes a unique, practical collection of Lisp programming techniques that shows how to take advantage of the language's design for efficient programming in a wide variety of applications.Amazon.com Review
Perhaps the author gives the best description of this book: "On Lisp deals mostly with the kinds of programs you could only write in Lisp." The book provides extensive information on the advanced features of Lisp, which are not found in other popular programming languages. After showing how flexibly functions can be manipulated, On Lisp moves on to the best discussion of macros available, which includes details of the possible pitfalls (various referential bugs, for example). Thebook concludes with a demonstration of various advanced constructs that can be implemented in Lisp using the tools developed in the earlier part of the book. As with his other book, ANSI Common Lisp, Graham writes in a fluid style that is a pleasure to read. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (14)

Excellent, but not your first Lisp book
This book is fantastic.
Paul Graham shows a lot of great programming techniques for Lisp. If you learnt Lisp in a short course as an undergrad, or if you played a bit with it on your own, believe me: you still don't know what really makes Lisp a great language, and why it makes you so productive. This book shows you how to really use all the power of Lisp (using higher-order programming, macros and some other interesting techniques) without shooting yourself in the foot.

I only have two little problems with this book:

- There are no exercises. You know, solving problems is the best way to consolidate newly-acquired knowledge and ability;
- The chapter on continuations presents what can be described as a kind of ugly hack to simulate Scheme continuations on Common Lisp. Perhaps it would have been better to stick to Scheme for the rest of the book?

If you want to learn Lisp and don't yet have experience with a lot of languages, get this as your second book.
If you already know some Lisp, or if you are an experienced programmer and can learn the basics of the syntax of Lisp quickly, thendo read this one.

How I Became a Better Perl Programmer
I've been programming Perl for over 10 years. I started to read On Lisp recently (though I've had to stop for a few weeks while I finish an "emergency" project) and the book has already changed my Perl programming style completely. Even though the book is not about Perl and even though I'm only half-way though the book, my programming techniques have evolved so significantly that my programs are about 1/10 the length of what they used to be, they are easier to debug, and far more enjoyable to program.

Sloppy code, poor writing.
First time I read it I couldn't understand much past the beginning tutorial chapters on macros. After going through a lot of other stuff and learning Scheme and Prolog on the way, I really hated this book when I read it second time around (its second part, I mean). The code is sloppy, the writing is poor, no concepts are really explained - the prose is just repeating the code in English without discussing any of the underlying concepts.

If you're looking to learn more about programming concepts like recursion and pattern matching, continuations and coroutines, nondeterminism and parsing, look elsewhere. If you want to see bottom-up programming in action, this is not the book for it either. The code is never developed incrementally, we're just presented with it on the spot. Creating and then just using some common-use macro utilities is NOT bottom-up programming.

The code for continuations and nondeterminism is completly redundant, and the author himself has corrected that in the source code posted on his web site (without admitting it). The 'fn' macro is both unnecessarily complex AND very limited in its functionality. Explication of failure in pattern matching vs. destructuring and how it makes ML-style function call mechanism possible is never discussed, the **GLOBAL** restarts store makes in(ter)dependent co-routines impossible, the only purpose the bogus "examples" serve is to make this fact obscure, etc. etc.

This book is hacking at its worst.

For any of its "advanced" chapters, if you don't yet know the underlying concepts, you're better off not reading this book at all. Of course if you already know the underlying concepts you can find delight in recognizing the concepts you already know, but you couldn't possibly hope to _learn_ anything from its minced explanations and mingled coding. The only possible audience for this book are those who already know everything in it, so what was the point in writing it (besides the macros tutorial in first few chapters)?

That the author is great hacker apparently doesn't mean he's any good at writing books on semi-advanced topics. This book could surely benefit a lot from a (better) technical editor either. I have no use for its supposedly great literary stylings.

It is available (legally) for free download
Go to paul graham's website and download this book for free now.You'll be happy you did.

Be a better programmer, not just a better Lisp programmer
There are dozens of programming texts that I recommend to people who want to understand various topics.There are only a small handful that I recommend to programmers who aren't using the tool or language that the book covers.This is one of those books.It requires a prior knowledge of Lisp, but not expert knowledge.Paul Graham rewards his readers with a much deeper understanding of the merits of Lisp and how to take advantage of the power it provides.

Paul Graham has commented on his web site ..., "It seems to me that there have been two really clean, consistent models of programming so far: the C model and the Lisp model. These two seem points of high ground, with swampy lowlands between them. As computers have grown more powerful, the new languages being developed have been moving steadily toward the Lisp model."I read that comment before I read On Lisp.It was fresh in my mind at the time, and I saw some of the features of Lisp in C++ and Java.Graham cites runtime type checking and garbage collection, but there are subtler features that appear in the C++ STL.When he described using macros to create functions as needed, his examples immediately brought to mind some of the templates for various "helper" classes; pair, for example.But he could equally well be talking about some of the classes in the Java runtime that are designed to be derived from.The bottom line is that this book is an excellent tutorial on good library design.It teaches by example the philosophy behind creating libraries that extend your language, either in general ways or specifically for the problem domain.

Paul Graham handles Lisp lovingly as an expert craftsman.An observant reader can learn a great deal about craftsmanship from his book.Eric Raymond stated in his essay How To Become A Hacker, "LISP is worth learning for a different reason - the profound enlightenment experience you will have when you finally get it. That experience will make you a better programmer for the rest of your days, even if you never actually use LISP itself a lot."Mr. Graham has commented about this specific quote wondering why anyone would learn about a great tool and then not use it.Lisp in general and this book specifically are an answer to that question.Lisp is not a single language.It is a family of languages that share a common philosophy and a core.Once you learn what gives Lisp its power, you can choose to enhance any tools you use with some measure of that power. ... Read more

Product Description
This introductory text in LISP, particularly Common LISP, teaches the language from basics to advanced artificial intelligence applications with a computer science orientation. The book covers modern control structures, lexically scoped interpreter, Macros, multiple values, catch and throw, structured iteration and its relation to recursion, and more. ... Read more

Product Description
LISP is an excellent language for learning or teaching programming. It is an interactive language with an integrated programming environment. As in machine languages, data representation and program representation are identical and a LISP program may therefore build other LISP programs or modify itself in the course of execution. This language was developed for use in writing programs for differential and integral symbolic calculus, for electronic circuit theory, for mathematical logic and for games programming. It is also one of the most widely used programming languages. Learning LISP is the theme of this introduction to programming. It makes no assumptions concerning the reader's prior knowledge, and the examples used introduce the language, its data structures, its control structures and its programming techniques. ... Read more

Product Description
This text, aimed at undergraduate and postgraduate courses in advanced LISP programming and programming for artificial intelligence applications, teaches programming techniques for artificial intelligence in terms of programming paradigms. Examples of programming paradigms covered are data-driven programming, logic programming and object-oriented programming. Features of the text include: the organization of topics by programming paradigm; A chapter on developing an expert systems shell;* detailed discussion of concepts such as pattern matching, frame-based knowledge representation, and infinite data structures. ... Read more

Product Description
Many of us already have at least a passing acquaintance with procedural languages such as BASIC or Pascal, but may not have met a functional language like Lisp before. Using the same enjoyable and sometimes quirky style that they employed so successfully in "The Art of C-Programming", Robin Jones and his team explain the fundamentals of Lisp in a way that students from school to postgraduates will find lucid and stimulating. The book is unique in illustrating the use of Lisp through the development of a realistic project: the design and implementation of a Lisp-based interpreter for the language ABC. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

uninspiring introducion to a facinating language
This book describes Lisp from a function point of view. i.e. they subdivided thebasic lisp functions in to categories and then dedicated a chapter for each category of functions.

Not indepth to be a reference andnot a very inspiring or original introduction to the language.

I can dowithout it. ... Read more

Product Description
Programming Python demonstrates advancedapplications of the increasingly popular object-oriented scriptinglanguage that's freely available on the Web.Hundreds of thousands of developers around the world use Python for Internet scripting, systems programming, user interfaces, product customization, and more. The Python interpreter is available onmost popular Unix platforms, Linux, Windows and the Mac.This book is the most comprehensive resource for advanced Python programmers available today. It focuses on real-world Python applications and has been reviewed and endorsed by Python creator Guido van Rossum, who also provides the foreword. Updated for Python 2.0, this edition is really 4 books in one, with in-depth coverage of Internetscripting, systems programming, Tkinter GUIs, and C integration domains.An appendix contains recent Python changes, and there's a platform-neutralCD-ROMwith book examples andPython-related packages, includingthe full Python 2.0 source code distribution.Amazon.com Review
Completely revised and improved, the second edition of Programming Python is an excellent compendium of material geared toward the more knowledgeable Python developer. It includes dozens of reusable scripts for common scripting tasks, and is one of the best available sources of information for this popular object-oriented scripting language.

In over 1,200 pages of material, this book offers an extremely comprehensive guide to Python development. Though his book is densely packed with information, Mark Lutz is a lively and witty writer whose focus is on getting things done using the natural strengths of the Python language. To that end, after an introduction and history of the language, the book shows how to use Python for performing automated tasks with files and directories (for example, for doing backups both locally and on Web servers). Not only will this book teach you more about Python, but it will also give you a library of code that you can use as is or adapt for your own projects.

The text covers every conceivable facet of Python and the language's support for networking, files and directories, task management, and even persistence (through its support for shelves). Complete Python programs show how to create e-mail clients, do reporting, and create Web applications (for an online errata database). Chapters on doing graphics programming in Python, as well as coverage of both built-in and custom data structures, are especially good. Because Python is often used for automating installations (in some Linux distributions, for instance), readers will appreciate the sample code and tips for using Python to create bulletproof installs.

Later sections show how get Python to work with C, Java (through JPython), and other languages. The book concludes with useful reference sections summarizing key aspects of Python, like its revision history, relationship to C++, and other material. There aren't many titles on Python, and fans of this up-and-coming language are lucky to have such a solid tutorial and guide available in Programming Python. Perfect for those with just a little previous exposure to the language, it's all you need to master Python in-depth and tap its considerable power for virtually any software project. --Richard Dragan

Topics covered:

• Introduction to Python
• Basic system scripts with Python (including file and directory tools)
• Working with processes and threads
• Pipes and signals
• Sample scripts for system and Web utilities (including backing up files, program launching, replicating and managing directories)
• Graphical user interface design in Python (including the Tkinter module)
• Widgets and basic components
• Layout options
• Event handling
• GUI examples (including a working text editor, image viewer, and clock)
• Network scripting (sockets, FTP, and e-mail clients)
• Server-side scripting
• Sample server scripts for an online errata database
• Python on the Internet (including Zope, JPython, and XML tools)
• Databases and persistence in Python (including pickled objects and shelf files)
• Custom and built-in data structures in Python
• Text and string handling
• C integration with Python (including the SWIG module)
• Embedding Python calls within C
• Hints for using Python in real projects
• Reference to recent changes to Python
• Python vs. C++ quick-start guide

Customer Reviews (2)

1st Edition was Better - Stay Away
I am aware that there is now a 3rd edition (Programming Python) out now of this series, but I cannot in good conscience not comment about the problem with this particular edition.

I own the first and second editions. I heartily recommend the 1st over the 2nd. In fact, the 2nd edition is actually missing material from the first - even though the 2nd is ALMOST TWICE THE SIZE of the first.

This is the worst part.. the best reason to even own the 1st edition (the only reason basically IMHO) is a section near the back of the book. And get this.. thats the only part they took out for the second edition.

Thats right, they added a bunch of useless text, and gutted the only thing that made the first edition of any value.

I have both on my bookshelf, the 2nd edition is in perfect condition and collects dust. The 1st is worn from use. Take from that what you will.

Excellent, but needs updating
I can't really complain about the book, except that newer 2.5+ libraries are not covered (e.g. the "subprocess" module"). It isn't meant to be comprehensive in the sense that you won't learn everything, but it covers enough for one to become a good python programmer. ... Read more

Product Description
The text uses a tutorial style that focuses on learning by interaction and experimentation. The text also thoroughly covers programming in Pure LISP before programming in Imperative LISP so that students get used to recursive programming. It gives an ordered presentation of Commom LISP - for example, it introduces packages simultaneously with symbols for easier assimilation and provides extensive example interactions with LISP to illustrate material being taught. The book devotes attention to style and debugging to familiarize students with realistic situations and helps novices recognize error messages and what they mean through intentional keyboard errors. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (2)

Common Lisp
This is a very good LISP book; perhaps the best.The book is short (~240 pages), enjoyable to read and contains an extensive reference of the language in the back of the book.I would definitely recommend reading this book before advancing onto Paul Graham's "On Lisp".

Lacks overall perspective

Let me begin with some compliments. The author's treatment of packages, always a tricky concept for LISPers, is superior.Shapiro introduces them early, and applies them consistently throughout the rest of the book. Another plus is his conversational tone that makes the book easy to follow.Most of his explanations seem accurate.

Now the bad news: there are many details introduced early while basic concepts are pushed way far back in the book.While the author is entitled to his own opinion about what's important, there are a couple of issues that are particularly bothersome.The let statement is not introduced until chapter 27, but gensym, a much more advanced topic is introduced earlier.There seems to be no mention that the eval command is not in wide usage and should be used sparingly.

Also, the reader does not come away with any notion of what is acceptable programming style.Sure, people have differences, but that doesn't give the author the right to shy away from this issue.

Despite the clarity of Shapiro's prose, Common Lisp: An Interactive Guide does not communicate what makes LISP special, nor with a sense of the range of programs that can be written with LISP.It might have been better to take a project oriented approach from the beginning, introducing concepts as necessary. The rest could be looked up in a reference manual.

If you are a first time programmer with no knowledge of LISP, Winston & Horn, LISP 3d edition brings you up to speed faster.If you know another programming language already, Koschmann "A Lisp Companion" is a wonderful choice.Both these books address beginners concerns, but also show the reader the bigger picture than does Shapiro.

In short: there is too much emphasis on detail, and not enough perspective.With the publishing of ANSI Common LISP, which serves as both a reference and a crash course, there is no reason to buy this book.However, I would give this author a second look in another book - he is clearly an accomplished educator and communicator, even though his efforts in this instance were misdirected. ... Read more

Product Description
Part of a two-volume work, this provides tutorials for using all AutoLISP functions, along with full instructions for implementing these functions. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (5)

AutoLISP programming bible
Presents AutoLISP commands and functions, and contains dozens of timesaving tips. It shows how to write custom programs, import and export information, and automate the creation of scripts.
"Maximizing AutoLISP: The Complete Guide to Programming AutoCAD [12] with AutoLISP!" (1992; ISBN 1562050850) was previously published under the following titles: "Maximizing AutoCAD [11] Volume II: Inside AutoLISP" (1991; ISBN: 0934035989) and "Inside AutoLISP: Using AutoLISP to Customize AutoCAD [10]" (1989; ISBN: 0934035474). The material from which "Inside AutoLISP" was derived was originally published under the title "Customizing AutoCAD [9]: A Complete Guide to Integrating AutoLISP, Menus, Macros, and More" (1988; ISBN: 0934035180).
AutoLISP was finalized only in AutoCAD 12. Hence, only Maximizing AutoLISP: The Complete Guide to Programming AutoCAD [12] with AutoLISP! (1992; ISBN 1562050850) teaches AutoLISP programming to its full extend as also indicated by its highest number of pages. Autodesk introduced its own AutoLISP tutorial with AutoCAD 13, though much shorter and inferior to "Maximizing AutoLISP" (1992; ISBN 1562050850). The tutorial could be considered an update of "Maximizing AutoLISP: The Complete Guide to Programming AutoCAD [12] with AutoLISP!" (1992; ISBN 1562050850).
"Maximizing AutoCAD [11] Volume II: Inside AutoLISP" (1991; ISBN: 0934035989) is the most complete book available on AutoLISP and programming only for AutoCAD Releases 11.
"Inside AutoLISP: Using AutoLISP to Customize AutoCAD [10]" (1989; ISBN: 0934035474) is the most comprehensive book on AutoLISP for only AutoCAD Release 10.

The BEST Book EVER on AutoLISP Programming !!!!
I did not need any other book on AutoLISP programming - This book went with me anywhere I did - the toilet , my bed , my computer desk. It DID NOT teach DCL programming so I bought another (by Christian Immler). If you want to see what I used AutoLISP for - check the website mentioned below. If you can get the bookit - DO IT ...

This book was the best AutoLisp reference that I ever owned
Too bad this book is out of print.I was impressed by the content, the ease of looking items up, and the examples.I wish the book had been updated for Rev. 13 of AutoCad.If you have Amazon try and locate a copy for you and they find one, consider yourself a luck programmer.

excellent
inside AUTOLISP first edition 1989 Dear Authors, I would like to order the lastest book that you wrote, Please contact me as soon as you can. Thank you

The best autolisp book going.
This book provided tools for me to reason and develope my own applications.Fantastically written.A must for any serious user ... Read more

Product Description
A self-contained, intermediate-level introduction to the structure and syntax of Common Lisp, this text is the first based on the draft ANSI standard for Common Lisp. Presents the concepts of object-oriented programming and incorporates the Common Lisp Object-Oriented Systems (CLOS) of the new ANSI standard. Includes end-of-section exercises. The end-of-chapter problems are answered at the back of the book. ... Read more

Customer Reviews (1)

Cheap, readable reference
As you'd expect from the title it's a pretty direct walkthrough of CL, however it is based on Guy Steele's first, 1984 standard and so predates the CLOS. It is introductory level - it has plenty of diagrams and takes the time to explain and give examples for each feature, but it is language- rather than idea-driven, though it was intended for people new to Lisp as well as those just wanting to get updated. The examples are small-scale and it does not give much guidance on design or efficiency, however its layout lets it serve well as a reference. Being older it isn't complete wrt the Hyperspec (the current CL definition, online) - but eg it lacked only 1 keyword, :print-object out of 10 for defstruct, so it seems to be decently comprehensive, and is easier to read and find your way around in.

With this book you're getting the language wrapped in explanation and examples but, not much beyond the basics. What I like about it is that it serves as a clear and cheap (< $20 as of this writing) reference. The one unfortunate lack is the CLOS. ... Read more