
Lisp in Small Pieces
Translated by Kathleen Callaway
Christian Queinnec(Author)
Cambridge University Press
Published on 4. December 2003
Book
Paperback/Softback
536 pages
978-0-521-54566-2 (ISBN)
Description
This is a comprehensive account of the semantics and the implementation of the whole Lisp family of languages, namely Lisp, Scheme and related dialects. It describes 11 interpreters and 2 compilers, including very recent techniques of interpretation and compilation. The book is in two parts. The first starts from a simple evaluation function and enriches it with multiple name spaces, continuations and side-effects with commented variants, while at the same time the language used to define these features is reduced to a simple lambda-calculus. Denotational semantics is then naturally introduced. The second part focuses more on implementation techniques and discusses precompilation for fast interpretation: threaded code or bytecode; compilation towards C. Some extensions are also described such as dynamic evaluation, reflection, macros and objects. This will become the new standard reference for people wanting to know more about the Lisp family of languages: how they work, how they are implemented, what their variants are and why such variants exist. The full code is supplied (and also available over the Net). A large bibliography is given as well as a considerable number of exercises. Thus it may also be used by students to accompany second courses on Lisp or Scheme.
More details
Language
English
Place of publication
Cambridge
United Kingdom
Target group
Professional and scholarly
Product notice
Paperback (trade)
Illustrations
Worked examples or Exercises; 35 Tables, unspecified
Dimensions
Height: 246 mm
Width: 189 mm
Thickness: 29 mm
Weight
1024 gr
ISBN-13
978-0-521-54566-2 (9780521545662)
Copyright in bibliographic data and cover images is held by Nielsen Book Services Limited or by the publishers or by their respective licensors: all rights reserved.
Schweitzer Classification
Other editions
Additional editions

Christian Queinnec
Lisp in Small Pieces
E-Book
08/2013
1st Edition
Cambridge University Press
€86.99
Available for download

Christian Queinnec
Lisp in Small Pieces
E-Book
12/2003
Cambridge University Press
€73.99
Available for download

Christian Queinnec
Lisp in Small Pieces
Book
06/1996
Cambridge University Press
€80.47
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Previous edition

Christian Queinnec
Lisp in Small Pieces
Book
06/1996
Cambridge University Press
€80.47
Article exhausted; check for reprint
Persons
Content
To the reader; 1. The basics of interpretation; 2. Lisp, 1,2,..., w; 3. Escape & return: continuations; 4. Assignment and side effects; 5. Denotational semantics; 6. Fast interpretation; 7. Compilation; 8. Evaluation & reflection; 9. Macros: their use and abuse; 10. Compiling into C; 11. Essence of an object system; Answers to exercises; Bibliography; Index.