LISP FROM NOTHING

• What is the minimal LISP language that can interpret itself?
• What is the smallest LISP that can compile itself?
• What was LISP hacking like in the age of punch cards, teletypes, and mainframe computers?

This text plays with the theme of minimal LISP by providing several implementations from a simple metacircular evaluator to a full compiler that emits a single, self-contained C program. The discussion is embedded in reflections on what hacking looked like in the early days of LISP.

Some code from the book

Metacircular LISP interpreter in Common Lisp

Metacircular LISP interpreter in Scheme

Self-hosting LISP compiler in ~400 lines

The rest of the LISP system

Garbage collector in LISP

Or, get the complete source code from the book (zip, ~100KB).

Or, get a punch card generator in Postscript so you can create your own punch card images, like those in the book!

Or, download the artwork from the title page of the first chapter ("Let There Be LISP") as a Postscript file.

* The hardcover version of LISP from Nothing is not available in retail shops.

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