Related:
Lisp from Nothing - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24809293 - Oct 2020 (29 comments)
Lisp from Nothing - https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=24798941 - Oct 2020 (5 comments)
Thanks for resubmitting the posting! I appreciate it! :)
Readit Newsnils-m-holm commented on Lisp from Nothing, Second Edition t3x.org/lfn/index.html... · Posted by u/nils-m-holm
nils-m-holm commented on Lisp from Nothing, Second Edition t3x.org/lfn/index.html... · Posted by u/nils-m-holm
> These are cultural artifacts, like deeply personal poetry, made purely for the process of it. Not practically useful, not state of the art, not research level, but... a personal journey?
I can't speak for the author but this is exactly how I look at the lisp I'm developing. It's a lifetime project. I had some kind of vision depicting how different things could be, and at some point I started trying to make it happen. I want to convince myself I'm not insane for thinking it was possible in the first place.
It's good to have a life-time project and watch it evolve over time. Nothing insane about that!
nils-m-holm commented on Lisp from Nothing, Second Edition t3x.org/lfn/index.html... · Posted by u/nils-m-holm
The entire website of the author is worth exploring: https://t3x.org/index.html
I love it so much, and seeing your bibliography makes me feel like a kid in a candy store. The confluence of Asian philosophy and computing is delightful.
To put you in the correct headspace this Saturday morning: https://t3x.org/whoami.html
"A kid in a candy store", I love it! :)
Enjoy your stay!
nils-m-holm commented on Lisp from Nothing, Second Edition t3x.org/lfn/index.html... · Posted by u/nils-m-holm
Damn. I ordered the first edition a few weeks back and now the second edition is out :D
Aww, man. If you haven't yet purchased the 2nd ed, send me an email!
nils-m-holm commented on Lisp from Nothing, Second Edition t3x.org/lfn/index.html... · Posted by u/nils-m-holm
Can anyone compare this with Queinnec's Lisp in Small Pieces? I was waiting for an English version of the 2nd edition but I guess it's never happening and my French has unfortunately regressed since then.
LISP in Small Pieces discusses very sophisticated techniques, while LISP From Nothing is more about the quirks and implementations of early LISP. Of course you can write a modern LISP based on the things covered in LFN, but if you are planning to write more than a toy, then Queinnec's book is the one to read.
nils-m-holm commented on Lisp from Nothing, Second Edition t3x.org/lfn/index.html... · Posted by u/nils-m-holm
Nothing as in "from scratch", as opposed to Nothing as in "Visual Basic's NULL".
Yes, the book is about the bootstrapping of LISP, both in a historical and practical context. Hence "from nothing".
nils-m-holm commented on Lisp from Nothing, Second Edition t3x.org/lfn/index.html... · Posted by u/nils-m-holm
"No AI was harmed in the making of this book."
And no AI has harmed the planet in the making of this book.
nils-m-holm commented on Lisp from Nothing, Second Edition t3x.org/lfn/index.html... · Posted by u/nils-m-holm
The book looks awesome. However, I find some irony in the presence of a “no AI” badge on the back cover considering Lisp was AI research.
I am well aware of that :)
nils-m-holm commented on Lisp from Nothing, Second Edition t3x.org/lfn/index.html... · Posted by u/nils-m-holm
I was very curious about this too. I've had my finger hovering over the "buy" button for months but there are next to no reviews on it. I'm wondering how it differs from other, similar works
There are always the sample chapters, and the code from the book is in the public domain. :)
The book is basically a modern and more complete version of the "Small C Handbook" of the 1980's. I goes through all the stages of compilation, including simple optimizations, but keeps complexity to a minimum. So if you just want to learn about compiler writing and see what a complete C compiler look like under the hood, without investing too much into theory, then this is probably one of very few books that will deliver.
Edit: and then Warren Toomey has written "A Compiler Writing Journey" based on PCC, which may shed a bit more light on the book: https://github.com/DoctorWkt/acwj
And then, at least for the compiler books, there is: http://t3x.org/files/whichbook.pdf