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<li class="header">LEARN LISP THE HARD WAY</li>
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Second Draft (in-progress)
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CHANGELOG
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TODO
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<li class="header">PREFACE</li>
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TANSTAAFL
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The Hard Way is Easier
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Who Is This Book For?
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Lisp: A Future History
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Acknowledgements
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<li class="header">PART ONE</li>
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Grokking Lisp
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Common Lisp Bootcamp
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Syntax Overview in 5 Minutes
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<li class="chapter " data-level="3.1.1.2" data-path="1-01-02-repl.html">
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The REPL
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<li class="chapter " data-level="3.1.1.3" data-path="1-01-03-expressions.html">
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Expressions, Parentheses, and Return Values
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Lists, Cons-Cells, and Memory
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Symbols and Namespaces
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<li class="chapter " data-level="3.1.1.6" data-path="1-01-06-prefix-notation.html">
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Prefix Notation
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Common Lisp Style Guide
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Configuring Your Development Environment
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<li class="chapter " data-level="3.1.2" data-path="1-02-00-input-output.html">
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Printing, Streams, and Strings
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Strings
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<li class="chapter " data-level="3.1.2.2" data-path="1-02-02-more-strings.html">
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More Strings
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<li class="chapter " data-level="3.1.2.3" data-path="1-02-03-unicode.html">
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Unicode and Strings
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<li class="chapter " data-level="3.1.2.4" data-path="1-02-04-chars.html">
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Characters
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<li class="chapter " data-level="3.1.2.5" data-path="1-02-05-more-chars.html">
<a href="1-02-05-more-chars.html">
More Characters
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<li class="chapter " data-level="3.1.2.6" data-path="1-02-06-char-codes.html">
<a href="1-02-06-char-codes.html">
Character Codes
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</li>
<li class="chapter " data-level="3.1.2.7" data-path="1-02-07-strings-from-chars.html">
<a href="1-02-07-strings-from-chars.html">
Strings from Chars
</a>
</li>
<li class="chapter " data-level="3.1.2.8" data-path="1-02-08-printing.html">
<a href="1-02-08-printing.html">
Printing
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<li class="chapter " data-level="3.1.2.9" data-path="1-02-09-more-printing.html">
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More Printing
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<li class="chapter " data-level="3.1.2.10" data-path="1-02-10-prin1.html">
<a href="1-02-10-prin1.html">
Printing With prin1
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<li class="chapter " data-level="3.1.2.11" data-path="1-02-11-princ.html">
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Printing With princ
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<li class="chapter " data-level="3.1.2.12" data-path="1-02-12-format.html">
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A Brief Introduction to Format
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<li class="chapter " data-level="3.1.2.13" data-path="1-02-13-more-format.html">
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A Little Bit More on Format
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</li>
<li class="chapter " data-level="3.1.2.14" data-path="1-02-14-pathnames.html">
<a href="1-02-14-pathnames.html">
Pathnames
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<li class="chapter " data-level="3.1.2.15" data-path="1-02-15-streams.html">
<a href="1-02-15-streams.html">
Streams
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</li>
<li class="chapter " data-level="3.1.2.16" data-path="1-02-16-file-streams.html">
<a href="1-02-16-file-streams.html">
File Streams
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<li class="chapter " data-level="3.1.2.17" data-path="1-02-17-binary-streams.html">
<a href="1-02-17-binary-streams.html">
Binary Streams
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<li class="chapter " data-level="3.1.2.18" data-path="1-02-18-prompting-users.html">
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Prompting Users
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<li class="chapter " data-level="3.1.2.19" data-path="1-02-19-pretty-printing.html">
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Pretty-Printing
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<li class="chapter " data-level="3.1.3" data-path="1-03-0-getting-input-from-users.html">
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Extra Credit: Getting Input from Users
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</li>
<li class="chapter " data-level="3.1.4" data-path="1-04-0-lists.html">
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Lists and List-Operations
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<li class="chapter " data-level="3.1.5" data-path="1-05-0-lookups-trees.html">
<a href="1-05-0-lookups-trees.html">
Extra Credit: Look-up Lists and Trees
</a>
</li>
<li class="chapter " data-level="3.1.6" data-path="1-06-0-math.html">
<a href="1-06-0-math.html">
Numbers and Math
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<li class="chapter " data-level="3.1.6.1" data-path="1-06-01-integers.html">
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Integers
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</li>
<li class="chapter " data-level="3.1.6.2" data-path="1-06-02-more-integers.html">
<a href="1-06-02-more-integers.html">
More Integers
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<li class="chapter " data-level="3.1.6.3" data-path="1-06-03-hexadecimal-notation.html">
<a href="1-06-03-hexadecimal-notation.html">
Hexadecimal Integer Notation
</a>
</li>
<li class="chapter " data-level="3.1.6.4" data-path="1-06-04-octal-notation.html">
<a href="1-06-04-octal-notation.html">
Octal Integer Notation
</a>
</li>
<li class="chapter " data-level="3.1.6.5" data-path="1-06-05-binary-notation.html">
<a href="1-06-05-binary-notation.html">
Binary Integer Notation
</a>
</li>
<li class="chapter " data-level="3.1.6.6" data-path="1-06-06-ratios.html">
<a href="1-06-06-ratios.html">
Ratios and Rational Numbers
</a>
</li>
<li class="chapter " data-level="3.1.6.7" data-path="1-06-07-floating-point.html">
<a href="1-06-07-floating-point.html">
Floating-point Numbers
</a>
</li>
<li class="chapter " data-level="3.1.6.8" data-path="1-06-08-constants.html">
<a href="1-06-08-constants.html">
Numeric Constants
</a>
</li>
<li class="chapter " data-level="3.1.6.9" data-path="1-06-09-complex-numbers.html">
<a href="1-06-09-complex-numbers.html">
Complex Numbers
</a>
</li>
<li class="chapter " data-level="3.1.6.10" data-path="1-06-10-arithmetic.html">
<a href="1-06-10-arithmetic.html">
Arithmetic
</a>
</li>
<li class="chapter " data-level="3.1.6.11" data-path="1-06-11-more-arithmetic.html">
<a href="1-06-11-more-arithmetic.html">
More Arithmetic
</a>
</li>
<li class="chapter " data-level="3.1.6.12" data-path="1-06-12-even-more-arithmetic.html">
<a href="1-06-12-even-more-arithmetic.html">
Even More Arithmetic
</a>
</li>
<li class="chapter " data-level="3.1.6.13" data-path="1-06-13-exponents.html">
<a href="1-06-13-exponents.html">
Exponents
</a>
</li>
<li class="chapter " data-level="3.1.6.14" data-path="1-06-14-logarithms.html">
<a href="1-06-14-logarithms.html">
Logarithms
</a>
</li>
<li class="chapter " data-level="3.1.6.15" data-path="1-06-15-trigonometry.html">
<a href="1-06-15-trigonometry.html">
Trigonometry
</a>
</li>
<li class="chapter " data-level="3.1.6.16" data-path="1-06-16-psuedorandom-numbers.html">
<a href="1-06-16-psuedorandom-numbers.html">
Pseudo-Random Numbers
</a>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="chapter " data-level="3.1.7" data-path="1-07-0-arrays.html">
<a href="1-07-0-arrays.html">
Extra Credit: Arrays and Vectors
</a>
</li>
<li class="chapter " data-level="3.1.8" data-path="1-08-0-variables.html">
<a href="1-08-0-variables.html">
Variables, Parameters, and Constants
</a>
</li>
<li class="chapter " data-level="3.1.9" data-path="1-09-0-closures.html">
<a href="1-09-0-closures.html">
Extra Credit: Closures
</a>
</li>
<li class="chapter " data-level="3.1.10" data-path="1-10-0-functions.html">
<a href="1-10-0-functions.html">
Functions and Macros
</a>
</li>
<li class="chapter " data-level="3.1.11" data-path="1-11-0-text-adventure.html">
<a href="1-11-0-text-adventure.html">
Extra Credit: A Simple Text Adventure
</a>
</li>
<li class="chapter " data-level="3.1.12" data-path="1-12-0-namespaces.html">
<a href="1-12-0-namespaces.html">
Namespaces, Symbols, Packages, and Systems
</a>
</li>
<li class="chapter " data-level="3.1.13" data-path="1-13-0-simple-web-app.html">
<a href="1-13-0-simple-web-app.html">
Extra Credit: A Simple Web Application
</a>
</li>
<li class="chapter " data-level="3.1.14" data-path="1-14-0-conditionals.html">
<a href="1-14-0-conditionals.html">
Conditionals
</a>
</li>
<li class="chapter " data-level="3.1.15" data-path="1-15-0-command-line-utility.html">
<a href="1-15-0-command-line-utility.html">
Extra Credit: Command-Line Utilities
</a>
</li>
<li class="chapter " data-level="3.1.16" data-path="1-16-0-map-loop.html">
<a href="1-16-0-map-loop.html">
Mapping and Looping
</a>
</li>
<li class="chapter " data-level="3.1.17" data-path="1-17-0-iterate.html">
<a href="1-17-0-iterate.html">
Extra Credit: Revisiting Loops with Iterate
</a>
</li>
<li class="chapter " data-level="3.1.18" data-path="1-18-0-format.html">
<a href="1-18-0-format.html">
Format Strings
</a>
</li>
<li class="chapter " data-level="3.1.19" data-path="1-19-0-dsl.html">
<a href="1-19-0-dsl.html">
Extra Credit: Domain Specific Languages
</a>
</li>
<li class="chapter " data-level="3.1.20" data-path="1-20-0-review.html">
<a href="1-20-0-review.html">
Part One in Review
</a>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="header">PART TWO</li>
<li class="chapter " data-level="4.1" data-path="2-0-0-overview.html">
<a href="2-0-0-overview.html">
The Suffusion of Blue
</a>
<ul class="articles">
<li class="chapter " data-level="4.1.1" data-path="2-01-0-programming-paradigms.html">
<a href="2-01-0-programming-paradigms.html">
Programming Paradigms
</a>
</li>
<li class="chapter " data-level="4.1.2" data-path="2-02-0-regex.html">
<a href="2-02-0-regex.html">
Extra Credit: Regular Expressions
</a>
</li>
<li class="chapter " data-level="4.1.3" data-path="2-03-0-objects-control.html">
<a href="2-03-0-objects-control.html">
Objects and Control Structures
</a>
</li>
<li class="chapter " data-level="4.1.4" data-path="2-04-0-data-persistence.html">
<a href="2-04-0-data-persistence.html">
Extra Credit: Persistence and Databases
</a>
</li>
<li class="chapter " data-level="4.1.5" data-path="2-05-0-extended-types.html">
<a href="2-05-0-extended-types.html">
Extended Types
</a>
</li>
<li class="chapter " data-level="4.1.6" data-path="2-06-0-threads-memos-parallel.html">
<a href="2-06-0-threads-memos-parallel.html">
Extra Credit: Concurrency and Memoization
</a>
</li>
<li class="chapter " data-level="4.1.7" data-path="2-07-0-logic-and-more-math.html">
<a href="2-07-0-logic-and-more-math.html">
Logic and Advanced Math
</a>
</li>
<li class="chapter " data-level="4.1.8" data-path="2-08-0-number-theory.html">
<a href="2-08-0-number-theory.html">
Extra Credit: Number Theory
</a>
</li>
<li class="chapter " data-level="4.1.9" data-path="2-09-0-binary-octets-bits.html">
<a href="2-09-0-binary-octets-bits.html">
Binary Streams, Octet-Vectors, and Bit-Vectors
</a>
</li>
<li class="chapter " data-level="4.1.10" data-path="2-10-0-improved-text-adventure-engine.html">
<a href="2-10-0-improved-text-adventure-engine.html">
Extra Credit: An Improved Text Adventure Engine
</a>
</li>
<li class="chapter " data-level="4.1.11" data-path="2-11-0-conditions.html">
<a href="2-11-0-conditions.html">
Conditions and Error Handling
</a>
</li>
<li class="chapter " data-level="4.1.12" data-path="2-12-0-2d-game.html">
<a href="2-12-0-2d-game.html">
Extra Credit: Write a 2D Game
</a>
</li>
<li class="chapter " data-level="4.1.13" data-path="2-13-0-compiler.html">
<a href="2-13-0-compiler.html">
The Compiler
</a>
</li>
<li class="chapter " data-level="4.1.14" data-path="2-14-0-tree-shaker.html">
<a href="2-14-0-tree-shaker.html">
Extra Credit: Write a Tree-Shaker
</a>
</li>
<li class="chapter " data-level="4.1.15" data-path="2-15-0-docs-and-inspection.html">
<a href="2-15-0-docs-and-inspection.html">
Documentation and Inspection
</a>
</li>
<li class="chapter " data-level="4.1.16" data-path="2-16-0-foreign-libs.html">
<a href="2-16-0-foreign-libs.html">
Extra Credit: Foreign Libraries in Lisp
</a>
</li>
<li class="chapter " data-level="4.1.17" data-path="2-17-0-debugging-testing.html">
<a href="2-17-0-debugging-testing.html">
Debugging and Unit Testing
</a>
</li>
<li class="chapter " data-level="4.1.18" data-path="2-18-0-ffi.html">
<a href="2-18-0-ffi.html">
Extra Credit: Write a Foreign Function Interface
</a>
</li>
<li class="chapter " data-level="4.1.19" data-path="2-19-0-essential-libs.html">
<a href="2-19-0-essential-libs.html">
Essential Lisp Libraries
</a>
</li>
<li class="chapter " data-level="4.1.20" data-path="2-20-0-packaging-libs.html">
<a href="2-20-0-packaging-libs.html">
Extra Credit: Packaging Lisp Libraries
</a>
</li>
<li class="chapter " data-level="4.1.21" data-path="2-21-0-review.html">
<a href="2-21-0-review.html">
Detailed Syntax Review
</a>
</li>
</ul>
</li>
<li class="header">PART THREE</li>
<li class="chapter " data-level="5.1" data-path="3-00-00-overview.html">
<a href="3-00-00-overview.html">
Lisp So(u)rcery
</a>
<ul class="articles">
<li class="chapter " data-level="5.1.1" data-path="3-01-00-web-apps.html">
<a href="3-01-00-web-apps.html">
Real-world Web Apps
</a>
</li>
<li class="chapter " data-level="5.1.2" data-path="3-02-00-typesetting.html">
<a href="3-02-00-typesetting.html">
Typesetting
</a>
</li>
<li class="chapter " data-level="5.1.3" data-path="3-03-00-mobile.html">
<a href="3-03-00-mobile.html">
Native Mobile Applications
</a>
</li>
<li class="chapter " data-level="5.1.4" data-path="3-04-00-gui.html">
<a href="3-04-00-gui.html">
Cross-platform Desktop Applications
</a>
</li>
<li class="chapter " data-level="5.1.5" data-path="3-05-00-system-utils.html">
<a href="3-05-00-system-utils.html">
Drivers, Daemons, and System-Utilities
</a>
</li>
<li class="chapter " data-level="5.1.6" data-path="3-06-00-reverse-engineering.html">
<a href="3-06-00-reverse-engineering.html">
Reverse Engineering
</a>
</li>
<li class="chapter " data-level="5.1.7" data-path="3-07-00-graphics.html">
<a href="3-07-00-graphics.html">
Graphics Rendering
</a>
</li>
<li class="chapter " data-level="5.1.8" data-path="3-08-00-gaming.html">
<a href="3-08-00-gaming.html">
OpenGL, SDL, and 3D Game Development
</a>
</li>
<li class="chapter " data-level="5.1.9" data-path="3-09-00-audio.html">
<a href="3-09-00-audio.html">
Audio Generation and Manipulation
</a>
</li>
<li class="chapter " data-level="5.1.10" data-path="3-10-00-data.html">
<a href="3-10-00-data.html">
Data Aggregation and Analysis
</a>
</li>
<li class="chapter " data-level="5.1.11" data-path="3-11-00-cryptosec.html">
<a href="3-11-00-cryptosec.html">
Cryptography and Security
</a>
</li>
<li class="chapter " data-level="5.1.12" data-path="3-12-00-fintech.html">
<a href="3-12-00-fintech.html">
Financial Software and Crypto-Currencies
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<h1 id="exercise-115">Exercise 1.1.5</h1>
<h2 id="symbols-and-namespaces">Symbols and Namespaces</h2>
<p>Common Lisp is often referred to as a LISP<sub>2</sub>---that is, it has separate namespaces for Functions and Variables in any given environment. In principle, this means that you can bind and assign both a function and a variable to the symbol <code>foo</code>, evaluate <code>(foo foo)</code>, and Lisp can distinguish between them automatically by their position in a form. You can also explicitly refer to the function definition in an argument position with the reader macro <code>#&apos;</code>, such as in <code>(apply #&apos;foo foo)</code>. In practice, however, this is considered bad form. Consider the example:</p>
<pre><code class="lang-lisp">(<span class="hljs-name">defvar</span> foo <span class="hljs-number">1</span>)
(<span class="hljs-name">defun</span> foo (<span class="hljs-name">foo</span>)
(<span class="hljs-name">+</span> foo foo))
(<span class="hljs-name">foo</span> foo)
=&gt; <span class="hljs-number">2</span>
</code></pre>
<p>There are actually three separate bindings of the symbol <code>foo</code> in the above example. First, there is the global variable <code>foo</code> bound and assigned with <code>defvar</code> to the value of <code>1</code>. There is the function definition of <code>foo</code>, and it has a parameter named <code>foo</code> as well. In the body of <code>foo</code> the function, it is its parameter being added to itself; so when the function <code>foo</code> is applied to the global variable <code>foo</code>, you get <code>(+ 1 1) =&gt; 2</code>.</p>
<p>This is because in addition to having separate namespaces for Functions and Variables, Common Lisp is also both <em>dynamically</em> and <em>lexically</em> scoped. Dynamic scoping is special and explicit in Common Lisp; lexical scoping is more intuitive and implicit---in other words, you have to specifically declare a symbol to be special to use its dynamic binding from within a lexical scope where the symbol could be lexically bound and assigned as a different variable, while many forms introduce an implicit lexical scope. For this reason there is a naming convention for top-level, dynamic variables, called &quot;earmuffs&quot;:</p>
<pre><code class="lang-lisp"><span class="hljs-comment">;; top-level, dynamic variables can be declared with DEFVAR or DEFPARAMETER</span>
(<span class="hljs-name">defvar</span> *my-dynamic-var* <span class="hljs-string">&quot;I&apos;m special!&quot;</span>)
=&gt; *MY-DYNAMIC-VAR*
<span class="hljs-comment">;; notice that the variable names are qualified with a pair of asterisks? These are called earmuffs.</span>
(<span class="hljs-name">defparameter</span> *my-extra-special-dynamic-var* <span class="hljs-string">&quot;I&apos;m special, too!&quot;</span>)
=&gt; *MY-EXTRA-SPECIAL-DYNAMIC-VAR*
<span class="hljs-comment">;; one obvious way to introduce a lexical scope is with a LET form for binding and assigning lexical variables:</span>
(<span class="hljs-name">let</span> ((<span class="hljs-name">one</span> <span class="hljs-number">1</span>)
(<span class="hljs-name">two</span> <span class="hljs-number">2</span>)
(<span class="hljs-name">three</span> <span class="hljs-number">3</span>))
(<span class="hljs-name">+</span> one two three))
=&gt; <span class="hljs-number">6</span>
<span class="hljs-comment">;; now let&apos;s put them both together</span>
(<span class="hljs-name">defvar</span> *one* <span class="hljs-number">1</span>)
=&gt; *ONE*
(<span class="hljs-name">let</span> ((<span class="hljs-name">one</span> <span class="hljs-number">1.0</span>))
(<span class="hljs-name">+</span> one *one*))
=&gt; <span class="hljs-number">2.0</span>
</code></pre>
<p>The &quot;earmuffs&quot; distinguish <em>special</em> variables from lexical. Even though this is &quot;just a convention&quot;, it&apos;s one you should be certain to follow. The combination of separate namespaces for functions and variables, with both dynamic and lexical scoping of symbols, is extremely powerful---but it can easily get out of hand. Distinguishing your special dynamic variables with the earmuffs will make a big difference.</p>
<p>Another excellent feature for taming the raw power of Common Lisp is its <em>package</em> system, which allow you to specify custom read-tables for your environment. When you define a package, you have to explicitly import symbols you want available in the package namespace---even the symbols of the Common Lisp language itself; you can import all of a package&apos;s exported symbols into your new package at once with the <code>:use</code> keyword expression in the body of your package definition.</p>
<p>To fully explore the package system, go ahead and create a file called <code>ex1-1-5.lisp</code>, and enter the following code:</p>
<pre><code class="lang-lisp">(<span class="hljs-name">in-package</span> <span class="hljs-symbol">:cl-user</span>)
(<span class="hljs-name">defpackage</span> #<span class="hljs-symbol">:my-new-package</span>
(<span class="hljs-symbol">:nicknames</span> #<span class="hljs-symbol">:newpack</span>)
(<span class="hljs-symbol">:use</span> <span class="hljs-symbol">:cl</span> <span class="hljs-symbol">:cl-user</span>)
(<span class="hljs-symbol">:export</span> #<span class="hljs-symbol">:mad-adder</span>))
(<span class="hljs-name">in-package</span> <span class="hljs-symbol">:my-new-package</span>)
(<span class="hljs-name">defvar</span> *my-private-var* <span class="hljs-string">&quot;I&apos;m not exported from the package&quot;</span>)
(<span class="hljs-name">defun</span> mad-adder (<span class="hljs-name">n</span> <span class="hljs-symbol">&amp;rest</span> rest)
<span class="hljs-string">&quot;An addition function for MY-NEW-PACKAGE.&quot;</span>
(<span class="hljs-name">apply</span> #&apos;+ n rest))
</code></pre>
<p>You could then continue defining your functions, variables, classes, methods, and other code in your new package, and specifically list the symbols you want to export as the package&apos;s public interface in the package definition&apos;s <code>:export</code> keyword expression. Notice that in this package definition, we&apos;ve also given the package a nickname, <code>newpack</code>, and told it to <code>use</code> all the exported symbols from the COMMON-LISP and COMMON-LISP-USER packages in the MY-NEW-PACKAGE local read-table.</p>
<p>Now back at the command line, navigate to the folder where you saved this file and, on Linux and OS X, run:</p>
<pre><code class="lang-sh">$ rlwrap sbcl --load <span class="hljs-string">&quot;ex1-1-5.lisp&quot;</span>
</code></pre>
<p>While on Windows, run:</p>
<pre><code class="lang-sh">$ sbcl --load <span class="hljs-string">&quot;ex1-1-5.lisp&quot;</span>
</code></pre>
<p>This will load and compile your source code file into the Lisp image, and as normal you will be dropped at the Lisp prompt in the <code>COMMON-LISP-USER</code> package. If you ever need to check what package you&apos;re in, you can evaluate <code>*package*</code>.</p>
<p>You can refer to any bound symbol in the current Lisp image by using its full name---normally, when you type in a symbol name, you don&apos;t have to type the package namespace it&apos;s in as well. Lisp assumes that a symbol you enter exists in the current package, unless you specifically tell it otherwise. You <em>can</em> access any symbol in a package, even if it&apos;s not exported, but generally speaking you should obey the implicit agreement you make with the developers of a library to use their package&apos;s exported interface instead of meddling with the internals.</p>
<p>Given that you have now defined the <code>mad-adder</code> function in <code>my-new-package</code> and loaded the file, but you&apos;re working in the <code>cl-user</code> package when the REPL starts, you might think you can just call <code>mad-adder</code> directly---you&apos;d get an error in this case, however, because the <em>full name</em> of <code>mad-adder</code> is actually <code>my-new-package:mad-adder</code> not <code>common-lisp-user:mad-adder</code>. You can use the package nickname instead, which is a convenient way to save typing and still be explicit:</p>
<pre><code class="lang-lisp">;; this:
(newpack:mad-adder 1)
;; is the same as:
(my-new-package:mad-adder 1)
;; if a symbol isn&apos;t exported, however, you have to use two colons between the package and symbol
newpack::*my-private-var*
</code></pre>
<p>There are some symbol names you can&apos;t use, however---at least not without trickery. As a general rule, you cannot use any of the 978 external symbols in the COMMON-LISP package for either a function or a variable, even if that binding does not exist in the Common Lisp standard. All the names of symbols exported by the COMMON-LISP package are <em>reserved</em>.</p>
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