RE: https://framapiaf.org/@vindarel/115735865346350808
Vindarel @vindarel comments the discussions on Common Lisp needing more documentation and resources, which have been going on for at least the past decade, and what new things the ecosystem actually got over the decade.
I'm among those who'd like more books as I love Lisp and enjoy reading about it. As for tools and resources, it'll probably take me a lifetime until I outgrow what was available even a decade ago.
@amoroso @vindarel I wish I could get my head around Lisp (Scheme, Racket...) but after the third paren and lack of clear declarations and assignments and (obvious) structure I can't comprehend it. Maybe it's lack of visual familiarity or inline comments and that it doesn't seem to solve any problem I face - I don't know. I worked through "Land of Lisp" and "Realm of Racket" and while isolated parts made sense, I got to the end and didn't feel I had any clear idea how to write anything myself. No idea if that's the books or me or what. And SICP was impenetrable - again, isolated parts made sense but nothing stuck and the book is incredibly dense. It _is_ a textbook but still, it felt neverending with little to show for it. :/
@arclight Land of Lisp may not be the best introduction:
https://stevengharms.com/posts/2025-01-30-quitting-the-land-of-lisp
You may try a more modern book with a practical angle (but don't use Emacs with a separate lisp implementation as suggested, just download the free, hobby version of LispWorks which comes with an IDE that requires no setup):
Most Lispers understand code by looking at the indentation and structure rather than the parentheses, which "disappear" with experience and IDEs handle automatically.
Lisp is often used for exploratory programming where declarations are usually not needed and may actually cause friction. They can be added though. Also, although there are lots of assignment constructs, Lisp encourages a functional style that relies less on them.
If you need anything else feel free to ask.
