Updates
Latest Tweet
What's New?
Check out for latest innovation, a computer based training video collection
Like this Page
Practical Common Lisp Review by C. Carter
Wonderful Introduction
I've found that I can gauge the usefulness of a book (on Amazon) by looking at the poor reviews first, to see the most severe criticism. I've read the poor reviews of Seibel's book, PCL, and have concluded that those reviewers haven't taken the book for what it is.
I've been a professional IT guy for over a decade and have used three different languages over the years. I've been playing with CL for several years, and have been through the standard texts (W&H, Wilensky, Touretzky, Graham). I can't therefore evaluate PCL from the standpoint of a complete beginner, but as someone who already knows something about CL.
PCL isn't a textbook, it isn't a tutor, and it isn't a reference. It's a guided tour by a lover, and as with all guided tours, reflects the biases and prejudices of the guide. This has both positive and negative implications.
In chapter 1, Seibel writes, "This book is for you if you're curious about Common Lisp, regardless of whether you're already convinced you want to use it or if you just want to know what all the fuss is about." This is a warning that the book isn't for the student or the practitioner, but for the curious -- note that Seibel intends to scratch an itch, rather than to lecture.
Seibel goes on to say, "If you've learned some Lisp already but have had trouble making the leap from academic exercises to real programs ..." This is where I was coming from, and in this respect PCL delivers. He continues "If you're a hard-nosed pragmatist who wants to know what advantages Common Lisp has over languages such as Perl, Python, Java, C, or C#, this book should give you some ideas." Again, PCL delivers. "Or maybe you don't even care about using Lisp ... but are annoyed by some Lisper telling you that's because you just don't 'get it'." PCL gives practical examples demonstrating the strengths of CL.
The word PRACTICAL in the book's title should clue the reader that PCL isn't a structured introduction to CL, but a guided tour with emphasis on the USES of the language and just enough theory to have it make sense.
I gave PCL five stars, I really should only have given it four because it's not sufficient by itself to learn CL -- but it most certainly meets the requirements of the curious to learn what the fuss is about. If the reader's curiosity turns into a desire to become proficient, PCL certainly gives him enough to make sense of a real text and/or reference.