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Groups > gnu.emacs.help > #60763 > unrolled thread

teach fluent emacs lisp

Started byRichard Smith <null@void.com>
First post2023-04-26 08:55 +0100
Last post2026-06-24 23:25 -0400
Articles 6 — 3 participants

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  teach fluent emacs lisp Richard Smith <null@void.com> - 2023-04-26 08:55 +0100
    Re: teach fluent emacs lisp Axel Reichert <mail@axel-reichert.de> - 2023-04-27 08:33 +0200
      Re: teach fluent emacs lisp Axel Reichert <mail@axel-reichert.de> - 2023-04-27 08:42 +0200
        Re: teach fluent emacs lisp Richard Smith <null@void.com> - 2023-04-27 21:54 +0100
        Re: teach fluent emacs lisp Richard Smith <null@void.com> - 2023-04-28 08:39 +0100
    Re: teach fluent emacs lisp steve g <Sgonedes1977@gmail.com> - 2026-06-24 23:25 -0400

#60763 — teach fluent emacs lisp

FromRichard Smith <null@void.com>
Date2023-04-26 08:55 +0100
Subjectteach fluent emacs lisp
Message-ID<lyh6t3oz6w.fsf@void.com>
Hello all

I need to take structured action, as every project I do with emacs
lisp is painfully clumsy.
I want to invest a campaign of effort now to get future gain.

I have written eg. a computational-numerical heat conduction solution
("only" 1-D) in emacs lisp - and oh yes yes yes yes has it been
useful.
On the other hand - I didn't even know about fn. "nth" when dealing
with lists until a few days ago.

Recommendations?
Settle with book(s) which have projects you can adjourn to the
computer with?
See and learn to express what the language makes possible?
Tutorials where you are almost certain to see like applications in
your own world of expertise(!) and "run with it"?
(I picked-up Finite Element Analysis modelling that way)
There's Stallman's book...
Others do show up on Web search - not many but they are there.
But what is recommended.

I need to do general programming.
While mindful the emacs interpretter and the AutoCAD interpretter
deliver from Lisp functions.

Thanks in advance,
Rich Smith

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#60765

FromAxel Reichert <mail@axel-reichert.de>
Date2023-04-27 08:33 +0200
Message-ID<87zg6tltqk.fsf@axel-reichert.de>
In reply to#60763
Richard Smith <null@void.com> writes:

> I need to take structured action, as every project I do with emacs
> lisp is painfully clumsy.

Sounds familiar. It was the same for me about 5 years back ...

> I want to invest a campaign of effort now to get future gain.

... until I decided to learn Lisp.

> Recommendations?

If I remember correctly, I started out with

  https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/manual/html_node/eintr/index.html

but soon jumped frequenty between it,

  https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/manual/html_node/elisp/index.html

, and

  https://www.cs.cmu.edu/~dst/LispBook/book.pdf

Note that the latter is about another Lisp dialect, Common Lisp, but the
Lisp family is such a strange beast when you come from an imperative
programming background (which was the case for me and, from your
mentionings of FEA, I suppose for you as well), that it REALLY paid off
for me to also read a GENTLE introduction.

Learning Lisp (I got hooked by it) changed my way of thinking about
programming forever (even in other languages) and proved immensely
useful, since by now I feel well at home when it comes to tweaking Emacs
(making this editor even better).

So highly recommended, but be prepared for the intellectual experience
of a lifetime: So many bare threads got linked, so many circles closed.

Best regards

Axel

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#60766

FromAxel Reichert <mail@axel-reichert.de>
Date2023-04-27 08:42 +0200
Message-ID<87sfclltc3.fsf@axel-reichert.de>
In reply to#60765
Sorry for the double follow-up, but I forgot to include this link:

  http://www.lisperati.com/casting-spels-emacs/html/casting-spels-emacs-1.html

This should also be quite a nice get-going.

Axel

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#60767

FromRichard Smith <null@void.com>
Date2023-04-27 21:54 +0100
Message-ID<lyy1mdoxk3.fsf@void.com>
In reply to#60766
Axel;
thanks for sharing your own path and what worked for you.
Will follow the links.

20 years ago I read Paul Graham's "On Lisp".
It got me started, for sure.

I had seen "Python" and I sensed something behind it.  ie. Lisp.

But I suspect I need tutorials where people convey forms of expression
they find useful, inspiring, magical, etc.  Draw you on and enduring
recollection.
Rather than a language reference manual.

Well, I will see where your links get me.

Regards,
Rich S

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#60768

FromRichard Smith <null@void.com>
Date2023-04-28 08:39 +0100
Message-ID<lyh6t0xxok.fsf@void.com>
In reply to#60766
I'm guilty of a second follow-up message :-)
Yes I/we/you do feel a genuine interest about Lisp and how to develop
it.  It has that effect.
I think there is something rational and right about it, which draws
you back.

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#61071

Fromsteve g <Sgonedes1977@gmail.com>
Date2026-06-24 23:25 -0400
Message-ID<87v7b7nvxn.fsf@gmail.com>
In reply to#60763
Richard Smith <null@void.com> writes:

> Hello all
>
> I need to take structured action, as every project I do with emacs
> lisp is painfully clumsy.
> I want to invest a campaign of effort now to get future gain.

yeah.

> Recommendations?


check comp.lang.lisp there is a new thread on this subject.

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