Editorial Review

Abelson and Sussman's classic Read more

Reviews (146)

SICP changed the way I think about making software.
A truly wonderful book. What else can I say?
Great intro to programming --
-- for someone who never has to deal with industrial software. But there is greatness here, so let's start with that.
inspires
whats this programming thing all about? thats what I thought mid-way through a business major in college. so i grabbed this book, because I'm a snob and I thought MIT, comp sci book, this should be a good, definitive introduction.
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Subjects:  1. Computer Books: Languages    2. Computer Science    3. Computer programming    4. Computers    5. Computers - Languages / Programming    6. LISP (Computer program languag    7. LISP (Computer program language)    8. Lisp (Programming Language)    9. Programming - Software Development    10. Programming Languages - General    11. Programming Languages - LISP    12. Compilers & interpreters    13. Computers / Computer Science    14. Databases & data structures   

Reviews (4)

The future history of programming
I'm not a professional reviewer. But I program a lot, and for a living. After more than 15 years of experience in algorithm development and user interface design, to name some extremes, I get the feeling that "traditional" computer programming languages like C (C++, C#, Objective C) and Pascal (Modula, Oberon, ADA)
Very, very good.
An unexpectedly good book. The best book available on Lisp implementation
This is an excellent book on Lisp implementation. You'll get a lot out of it, whether you areinterested in writing compilers and interpreters (for Lisp or any language) or whether you just want to see how Lisp works.Itis the modern day successor to Allen's "Anatomy of Lisp". ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Books: Languages    2. Computers    3. Computers - Languages / Programming    4. Programming - Software Development    5. Programming Languages - General    6. Programming Languages - LISP    7. Computers / Programming / Software Development    8. High level programming languages    9. LISP (Computer program language)   

Reviews (7)

Quick/Easy Tutorial for a Powerful but Unpopular Language
Lisp (no it's not a speech impediment) is an old language. But in spite of all of the hype on the new languages like C, C++, and Java, there is still a need and a place for some of the old languages.
Well polished but
Ok it was on the web a lot and many people have a change to trace the errors and post suggestions, so this is a pretty well written and well polished product, i would recommend to beginner to intermediate programmer , typing is pretty compact so you could use it as a reference but for a A grade tehre should be good exercises.

Thinking receipthits one more time
Great book , one that lisp world needed , to offer another view. Well polished through web feedback quick tutorial or reference recommended for beginner or intermediate programmer.
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Subjects:  1. Computers / General    2. David B. Lamkins   

Reviews (35)

The best intro to Lisp I've seen
I've used a bunch of different Lisp books in my efforts to get to the point where I could actually do something useful with the language.This book is the best I've seen for that, period.

Awesomely good....
This is one of the gentlest introductions to Common Lisp that I have run across. I have read most of the introductory books and this beats them hands down. Consider this highly recommended if your trying to get up to speed on the language that makes you think different.

Very practical, very good.
This is a good book. After the first few chapter of getting to know Lisp, he has some real world examples of using lisp (4-5 projects?) Very "Practical". It doesn't hover around subjective issues like the massive (LOOP ... ) macro, thats for flame-boards =D. He likes it, he uses it and shows you the power. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. COMMON LISP (Computer program    2. COMMON LISP (Computer program language)    3. Computer Books: Languages    4. Computer Science    5. Computers    6. Computers - Languages / Programming    7. Programming Languages - LISP   

Reviews (3)

Great book, the best book on visual lisp and autolisp
I have seen almoost all the books available on visual lisp and autolisp. I found this one the most useful. The accompanying software creates an elegant and more lisp-like abstraction on the top of visual lisp's VBA-like constructs. Very well designed api, and a thoroughly enjoyable book. Many thanks.
Visual Lisp : A guide to Artful Programming
The manual appears to be very good but without the use of the cd file containing all the functions, it's useless. The manual directs to run setup, which isn't there. Upon examination of the the four remaining files there is a list of the four files on cd, no setup and no apparrent way of doing it manually because there is no database of the functins. The manual also suggests downloading the latest version but the website is invalid. Trying to reach Phil Kreiker by email is also invalid. I tried Bill Krammer's, who wrote an intro to the book, websit and found an 800 # only got a lot of run-around. I see nearly a 50/50 split on the feedback on the book. ???Has anyone had this problem??.Amazon.com is still selling it, with the same errors. How good is this book if it is so poorly checked before publishing? VERY INFORMATIVE
THE MOST HELPFUL GUIDE TO VISUAL LISP I'VE SEEN SO FAR. A REAL MUST HAVE VOLUME. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Books: Web Programming    2. Computers    3. Computers - Languages / Programming    4. Lisp (Programming Language)    5. Programming - General    6. Programming Languages - LISP    7. Visual LISP (Computer program    8. Visual LISP (Computer program language)    9. Programming languages    10. Technology / Engineering / General   

Editorial Review

Perhaps the author gives the best description of this book: "Read more

Reviews (13)

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.
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. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. COMMON LISP (Computer program    2. COMMON LISP (Computer program language)    3. Computer Bks - Languages / Programming    4. Computer Books: Languages    5. Lisp (Programming Language)    6. Programming Languages - General    7. High level programming languages   

Reviews (3)

Not so good for the beginner
Although the author of the book is teaching my LISP class, the book is very difficult for a beginner to LISP and has almost no actual code to learn from.It tends to be wordy and the examples are abstract and not clear.The author is a really nice guy, but in consencus with many of my other classmates, the book is very hard to learn from and brushes over many topics which I have found covered in greater detail in other texts.

Horrible for trying to learn the language
While this is a good book for a reference to the language, there are virtually no examples of code within the book at all.If you are new to LISP, you will not benefit much by buying this.

Easy reading for the novice Common Lisp programmer
This book is a classic in the Lisp literature.It is extremely readable.Those new to Lisp can gain from this.Good Lisp programming style is emphasized.this book is a reworking of the author's earlier book LispCraft.Ease of reading should be considered this work's greatest asset. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. COMMON LISP (Computer program    2. Computers - Languages / Programming    3. Lisp (Programming Language)    4. Programming Languages - General    5. 4GLs (fourth generation languages)   

Editorial Review

This is the Lisp programmers' bible. If you need to know the official specification, everyfunction defined in Common Lisp can be found in here somewhere. Anyone vaguely serious aboutprogramming in Lisp for extended periods of time should keep a copy of this book for reference. However,note that while this book is clearly written, it is not an introduction to programming in Lisp--Read more

Reviews (14)

this is the "bible" of common lisp
to enjoy this book, you must be aware of what it is and is not.it is not intended for learning lisp.it *is* intended for thoroughly documenting the language, and steele is perhaps the best writer alive in this field.his thoroughness, attention to detail, and copy-editing skills are nearly impossible to beat -- it's not a coincidence that he was chosen to write the standard for java, based on his work on this book.

Perhaps the best computer language reference ever written
"Common Lisp, The Language" (or CLTL) is an industrial-strength language reference for a somewhat esoteric computer language (in the view of most programmers today), so this tome is definitely not for the novice, nor for the faint of heart.However, if you are a true devotee of Common Lisp, then it is hard to imagine how you can escape this most sacred of texts.I own two dog-eared and heavily marked-up copies of the book, from which I have gotten my money's worth many times over.For years one or the other of these copies has been a permanent fixture on my desk, beside my keyboard.It is an invaluable reference for serious Common Lisp programmers. The sad state of Lisp documentation
I'm absolutely certain that CLtL's 4 star review average is indicative of some larger evil. I've been struggling with this book for too long now, and I can't take it anymore.Read more

Subjects:  1. COMMON LISP (Computer program    2. COMMON LISP (Computer program language)    3. Computer Books: Languages    4. Computer Programming Languages    5. Computers    6. Computers - Languages / Programming    7. Programming - Software Development    8. Programming Languages - General    9. Computers / Programming Languages / General    10. High level programming languages   

Reviews (4)

Concise, clear and readable, an excellent introduction
Lisp is kinda hot again, Perl 6 will have multiple dispatch, Ruby's getting before and after methods, and Aspect Oriented Programming is still bubbling under in Java, so what better time to revisit the Common Lisp Object System and this slim volume from 1989? Unsurprisingly, objects in Lisp are implemented differently to the well-known object systems, even Smalltalk, so if you're into OO (and in particular AOP), check out CLOS.
A good way to understand "why CLOS?"
This is a nice "tutorial style" walk through much of the functionality of CLOS. The cover says it all
You are going to get precisely what is advertised: a good guide to object-oriented programming in Common Lisp, no less, no more. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. COMMON LISP (Computer program    2. Computer Books: Operating Systems    3. Computers - Languages / Programming    4. Lisp (Programming Language)    5. Object-oriented programming (C    6. Programming Languages - LISP    7. Computers / Programming Languages / LISP    8. High level programming languages    9. Object-oriented programming (OOP)   

Reviews (6)

Makes you fall in love with LISP
We had a LISP course (prerequisite for AI) in the university, and our teacher used this book. I immediately fell in love with the language! This book is written in a fun way, that really makes sense. It was only from this book that I mastered the art of recursion (the cat in the hat comes back? the dragon stories?). Everything was fun about this book, you really have the sense that it was made with extreme passion and dedication; something that usually doesn't apply to programming books.

Excellent Tutorial
This is an excellent tutorial.A good place to start before reading any of Graham's books.
Excellent !!!
An excellent book for beginners. If you are a newbie and you want to buy only one Lisp book, this is it! Highly recommended. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. COMMON LISP (Computer program    2. COMMON LISP (Computer program language)    3. Computer Books: Operating Systems    4. Computers - Languages / Programming    5. Lisp (Programming Language)    6. Programming Languages - General    7. High level programming languages   

Editorial Review

Friedman and Felleisen's Read more

Reviews (3)

introduces the rest of scheme (almost)
The Seasoned Schemer continues where the Little Schemer left off introducing local variables via let and it's variations including letrec. Set!, the syntax for changing a variables value is introduced. Continuations, as used for escaping from an computation and for going back to previous position in code are also introduced. There are less references to the accomplishments of famous computer scientists in this book than in the Little Schemer which I found to be disappointing. However, I greatly enjoyed this book and would recommend it to anyone wanting to increase their understanding of the Scheme programming language. Although scheme's vector data type is not introduced, I think you will have enough of an understanding of Scheme after reading this book to make substantial programs.

Excellent book on thinking recursively
This book is the second half of "The Little Schemer".Itexpects you to have mastered the previous volume, so it starts fast andpicks up speed from there. solid material - interesting format
Dialogue style makes this book fun to read.Leitmotif of food examples keeps the tone light and the reader hungry.Have the number for pizza handy before you sit down for this book. Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Books: Languages    2. Computers    3. Computers - Languages / Programming    4. LISP (Computer program languag    5. LISP (Computer program language)    6. Lisp (Programming Language)    7. Programming Languages - General    8. Programming Languages - LISP    9. Scheme (Computer program langu    10. Scheme (Computer program language)    11. Computers / Programming Languages / General    12. Programming languages   

Subjects:  1. Computer Books: Languages    2. Computers    3. Programming Languages - LISP    4. Word Processing - General   

Editorial Review

This book provides an excellent introduction to Common Lisp. In addition to chapters coveringthe basic language concepts, there are sections discussing the Common Lisp object system (CLOS) andspeed considerations in Lisp. Three fair-sized examples of nontrivial Lisp projects are also included. Thebook's clear and engaging format explains complicated constructs simply. This format makes Read more

Reviews (25)

When I Hack Lisp this book is with me
Once you move beyond the very basics of Lisp this is a great book to have around.It has nice to the point examples of how to perform common and uncommon tasks in Lisp.In the back of the book there is a small description of the commonly used functions for Lisp.The brievity and size of the book plus the density of the material presented makes for a excellent book to have at your side while you are coding.I wouldn't recommend it for developers or anyone who has never seen Lisp code before but once you are beyond that stage it is an excellent bargin

a very expressive language
Common Lisp is a bit of a throwback. And so is this book, from 95. There is absolutely no graphics described for Common Lisp here. Not unlike Fortran, C or C++. Here you get a "pure" language, without all that user interface fluff. The lack of an update to this book in 10 years also reflects the stability of Common Lisp. Veterans of C or Fortran should recognise this.
Great book for a rather powerful yet misunderstood language
I'm a programmer comming from a procedural and OOP background. Some features of Lisp are completely mind-blowing if not right out bizzarre. Even if you're not in the field of AI, Neural Nets, etc. This book teaches you how to use Lisp as a "common," all purpose language.
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Subjects:  1. COMMON LISP (Computer program    2. COMMON LISP (Computer program language)    3. Computer Books: Languages    4. Computers    5. Computers - Languages / Programming    6. Lisp (Programming Language)    7. Programming Languages - LISP    8. Computers / Programming Languages / LISP    9. High level programming languages   

Reviews (1)

A great intermediate lisp book.
I found Bill Kramer's book to be very helpful in really understanding how the lisp language for AutoCad works.I would not say it is for the absolute beginner.It does not contain tons of non-useful, simple code to use as a tutorial.It does, however, contain a lot of truly useful functions and detailed explanations on how the code actually works.From the very start, it discusses how to use AutoCad's Visual Lisp Integrated Design Environment, one of the best tools for helping programmers write functions.This is something other books, inexplicably, leave till the end.I highly recommend this book to anyone.It is one of the better books out there. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. AutoCAD    2. CAD-CAM - AutoCad    3. Computer Books And Software    4. Computer Graphics - General    5. Computer graphics    6. Computers    7. Computers - Languages / Programming    8. Programming Languages - LISP    9. Visual LISP (Computer program    10. Visual LISP (Computer program language)    11. Computer aided design (CAD)    12. Programming languages   

Reviews (5)

It's a five-star book, but...
...it's been obsoleted by its own fouth edition.No place on the listing for this book do I find a hint that this is the third edition of a book currently in its FOURTH edition.They renamed the book The Little Schemer for the fourth revision.Buy that book instead.

There is no better teaching book, anywhere.
The pinnacle of the act of teaching is to be simultaneously clear, simple, interesting, and complete. This is rarely achieved in person, and almost never in writing; "The Little LISPer" achieves it. I believe this defines what a teaching book can be. It is brief. It can be read in snippets, at any pace. It will maintain the interest of anyone who comes to learn. The reader is left ready to write Lisp code, no matter what background precedes it. I concur, one of the best computer book I've ever read
I'm still struggling with lisp, but this book was simple, to the point, and clear.I didnt even get annoyed by his goofy attempts at humor. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Books: Languages    2. Computers    3. Fiction - General    4. General    5. LISP (Computer program languag    6. LISP (Computer program language)    7. Lisp (Programming Language)    8. Programming Languages - LISP    9. Computers / Programming Languages / LISP    10. High level programming languages   

Editorial Review

This is an overview of classical artificial intelligence (AI) programming via actualimplementation of landmark systems (case studies). For the student interested in AI, Read more

Reviews (7)

One of the Best
"Paradigms of Artificial Intelligence Programming" is one of the best books of computer science that I have ever read.I put it up there in the pantheon with "Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs".I have found more useful and mind expanding material in these case studies than I have in many other books on computer science. I highly recommend this book to anyone, even if they have never used Lisp.

Norvig's Corollary to Greenspun's Tenth Law of Programming
This book has been called "The best book on programming ever written".I'd have to agree--it is certainly the best that I've ever read.
An Excellent Reference on WHY to write good Lisp
This book is equally excellent regardless of whether you wish to regard it as:Read more

Subjects:  1. Artificial Intelligence - General    2. Artificial intelligence    3. COMMON LISP (Computer program    4. COMMON LISP (Computer program language)    5. Computer Books: General    6. Computer programming    7. Computers    8. Computers - Languages / Programming    9. Lisp (Programming Language)    10. Programming - Software Development    11. Programming Languages - General    12. Computers / Artificial Intelligence   

Reviews (1)

Excellent book for LISP students
This book contains interesting LISP source code. The title say about Neural Networks and chaos, but the Chaos chapter is very small.However, this book contains a game!!. The Chess program (not use neural networks) is written totally in LISP. And play good.You can study the search techniques. I recommend this book for LISP lovers. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Artificial Intelligence    2. Artificial Intelligence - General    3. Common LISP (Computer program    4. Common LISP (Computer program language)    5. Computer Books: General    6. Computers    7. Computers - Languages / Programming    8. Lisp (Programming Language)    9. Neural networks (Computer scie    10. Neural networks (Computer science)    11. Programming Languages - LISP    12. Science/Mathematics    13. Computers / Artificial Intelligence    14. High level programming languages    15. Künstliche Intelligenz    16. LISP   

Reviews (2)

VERY GOOD BOOK, except...
I learned to programming Common Lisp using Tanimoto's book (in conjunction with Winston Horn's "Lisp"). The book's writing is superb, and the examples are very well thought out and implemented. A very broad treatment of AI Fundamentals
Tanimoto provides a very broad treatment of AI techniques.As such dicussions are often brief.There is an outstanding section on Computer vision.Knowledge representation is also well covered.The author presents highly idiomatic examples of Lisp code.This book would be ideal for anyone not familiar with AI techniques who wants to do AI research and/or development. ... Read more

Subjects:  1. Artificial Intelligence    2. Artificial Intelligence - General    3. Computer Bks - Languages / Programming    4. Computer Books: General    5. Computers - Languages / Programming    6. Data processing    7. LISP (Computer program languag    8. LISP (Computer program language)    9. Lisp (Programming Language)    10. Programming Languages - LISP    11. High level programming languages   

Reviews (5)

Emacs nirvana it ain't -- but you could do worse.
If you have taken the wise step and decided to learn emacs you're aware of the eLISP substructure underlying your C- and M- actions. Once you're aware that this power is there, you will invariably want to use it to make some routine editing patterns faster / more efficient. Step 3 in mastering Emacs...
...is reading this book. Step 1 would be to read O'Reilly's "Learning Gnu Emacs" from cover to cover. Step 2 would be to start bookmarking "Info" pages in the Emacs and Elisp manuals (inside Emacs; Emacs can bookmark places in files you've edited, bookmark directories, bookmark Info pages, etc.); and then you are ready to read this book. Presents its material in fragments
If the description "tutorial" means presentation of fragments of Lisp code interspersed with commentary, then this book is indeed tutorial. This book would have been much more valuable if the author had presentedcomplete listings of his .emacs files. There are two problems withfragments. First, they are not as interesting as complete listings. Second,when you put them together and they don't work, you get to wonder whetherthey were complete to begin with. It is no doubt a grand book "if youknow what you are doing." But if you know what you are doing, Ducky,you can learn everything you need to know by reading the HOW-TOs and thesources, then you don't need a "tutorial."Read more

Subjects:  1. Computer Books: General    2. Computers    3. Computers - Languages / Programming    4. GNU Emacs    5. LISP (Computer program language)    6. Operating Systems - UNIX    7. Programming - General    8. Programming Languages - LISP    9. Text editors (Computer programs)    10. Unix (Operating System)    11. Computers / Languages / Programming    12. Computers / Operating Systems / UNIX    13. Computers / Programming Languages / LISP    14. Computers/Operating Systems - UNIX    15. Computers/Programming - General    16. Programming languages    17. Unix, Unix Linux & Unix TCL/TK