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2nd out of 15 books
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13 voters
Land of LISP: Learn to Program in LISP, One Game at a Time!
Lisp is a uniquely powerful programming language that, despite its academic reputation, is actually very practical. Land of Lisp brings the language into the real world, teaching Lisp by showing readers how to write several complete Lisp-based games, including a text adventure, an evolution simulation, and a robot battle. While building these games, readers learn the core...more
Paperback, 504 pages
Published
April 28th 2010
by No Starch Press
(first published 2010)
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I'm very happy with this book. I have wanted to look at Common Lisp for a while, and this book helped get me up to speed not just in the language, but in what is considered idiomatic Lisp code. The games format reminded me of how I learned to program in junior high, with Creative Computing and TI Magazine's printouts of games in BASIC.
If you want to learn Lisp, and want to see sample programs, then this would be a good book. It is aimed at novice programmers, so if you already know what higher o...more
If you want to learn Lisp, and want to see sample programs, then this would be a good book. It is aimed at novice programmers, so if you already know what higher o...more
A great introduction to Lisp and a lot of other topics using games as example programs. The games are fun to create and the writing style is very readable, which keeps things interesting. If you take the time to go through and actually type out all the programs you'll learn a lot. This isn't a good book for someone who's never programmed before, but if you know how to code and want to learn what this Lisp thing is all about, this is your book.
Here are a few (minor) downsides:
* Sometimes the inde...more
Here are a few (minor) downsides:
* Sometimes the inde...more
Ever since I first learned about it, I was eagerly awaiting the release of Land of Lisp. If you have never heard about the book before, have a look at this promotional cartoon music video. Yes, that’s right, this book comes with its very own promotional cartoon music video!
http://landoflisp.com/
Your reaction to this video is actually a pretty good indicator on wether or not you are likely to enjoy this book. If you can’t take the cartoons and strange humor, “Land of Lisp” will probably not be fo...more
http://landoflisp.com/
Your reaction to this video is actually a pretty good indicator on wether or not you are likely to enjoy this book. If you can’t take the cartoons and strange humor, “Land of Lisp” will probably not be fo...more
I had a good time reading this, and it wasn't just the comics (although, the one half-way through with the Land of Lisp vs the Republic of Haskell made me laugh). I guess I'm not particularly likely to go start coding anything up in LISP any time soon, but it was fun to read about, all the same. One of the projects spanning this book involves writing a web server and returning svg to display the game state, which is pretty cool. I'm on to Learn You a Haskell! next.
Nov 07, 2010
Toby
added it
Not bad. Not great. A comic-filled romp through modern, non-recursive LISP programming. I didn't bother reading any of the comics, so I can't comment on those. With a subtitle like "One Game at a Time!", I would have expected a more about games than was there. A number of the games themselves were 1970s-style text games which, while not without their charms, seem a tad dull and dry compared to the games you can create with packages like Processing.
A fun and easy to read book that will teach you the basics of common lisp. It uses as examples some classic videogames like a Zork-like IF game, an RPG combat system, etc. that, while not exciting, kept me motivated.
The only downsides are: no CLOS, and some uninformed comments made by the author (e.g.: "Lisp invented type inference"). Also, the book abuses conses as a data structure; this gives the false impression that in Lisp (almost) everything is a list.
Anyway, this is a good introduction to...more
The only downsides are: no CLOS, and some uninformed comments made by the author (e.g.: "Lisp invented type inference"). Also, the book abuses conses as a data structure; this gives the false impression that in Lisp (almost) everything is a list.
Anyway, this is a good introduction to...more
A nice and playful book. Not much of a course book, but more a motivation to learn more about Common Lisp. Do not expect even an attempt at a language reference book. On the other hand, expect lots of nice examples and a great comic at the end :-)
A fun, easy-to-read introduction to Common Lisp that steers clear of the usual dry, business-oriented examples and mindset -- you're guided, step-by-step, in the development of games, rather than Yet Another Bookstore Simulation Laden With Pointers To Best Practices. Recommended for both newbies/beginners and those who, like me, are trying to transition from other Lisp dialects.
Really a fun book to read, and a great introduction to Lisp. With humorous (cartoons) and playful examples all of lisp's concepts are very well explained. Highly recommended for developers who want to check out (the land of) Lisp.
Easily the most friendly introduction to Lisp that I've encountered. The games the book builds along the way are far more interesting than the programs most other books use to demonstrate concepts.
Great intro to lisp and the functional paradigm, lots of example code. COMICS!
Really great and entertaining book on computer programming!
May 18, 2013
Gaelan D'costa
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May 15, 2013
Thomas
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May 13, 2013
صلاح الدين
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Dec 17, 2010 02:47pm