The Most Popular Lisp, Ranked

Choose the Lisp you think is the most popular!

Author: Gregor Krambs
Updated on May 3, 2024 06:42
In the world of programming languages, the various dialects of Lisp have carved out a unique niche, known for their powerful capabilities in processing symbolic information. These languages, however, can vary widely in their design and applications, making it a challenge for enthusiasts and developers alike to identify which one might best suit their project's needs or personal learning objectives. By participating in rankings, users contribute invaluable insights that help clarify how each Lisp dialect stands in terms of popularity and usability. This interactive process not only aids new learners in making informed decisions but also fosters a community-driven approach to highlighting the strengths and unique features of each variant. Your vote matters in shaping this ongoing dialogue within the Lisp community.

What Is the Most Popular Lisp?

  1. 1
    33
    votes
    Common Lisp is one of the most popular Lisp dialects with a long history of development and a large user and developer community. It has a powerful macro system, object-oriented programming features, and is widely used in artificial intelligence and scientific computing.
    Common Lisp is a general-purpose, multi-paradigm programming language and one of the oldest and most prominent members of the Lisp family. It offers a rich set of features, including dynamic typing, garbage collection, macros, object-oriented programming, and first-class functions. Common Lisp is known for its extensibility and the ability to write expressive and concise code.
    • Year: 1984
    • Paradigm: Multi-paradigm: functional, procedural, object-oriented
    • Typing discipline: Dynamic
    • License: GNU Lesser General Public License (LGPL)
    • Platform: Cross-platform
    Common Lisp in other rankings
  2. 2
    26
    votes
    Scheme is a minimalist and elegant Lisp dialect that emphasizes simplicity and expressiveness. It is widely used in education and research, and has influenced the development of other programming languages such as Python and Ruby.
    Scheme is a general-purpose functional programming language and one of the most popular dialects of the Lisp programming language. It is designed to have a minimalistic syntax and a simple yet powerful semantics, making it a versatile and flexible language for various programming tasks.
    • First version: 1975
    • Lexical scoping: Yes
    • First-class functions: Yes
    • Tail call optimization: Yes
    • Dynamic typing: Yes
  3. 3
    13
    votes
    Clojure is a modern Lisp dialect that runs on the Java Virtual Machine and emphasizes concurrency and functional programming. It is used in web development, big data processing, and distributed systems.
    Clojure is a high-level, dynamic, and functional programming language that is designed to be a general-purpose language for developing applications. It is a dialect of Lisp that runs on the Java Virtual Machine (JVM) and provides seamless interoperation with Java libraries. Clojure emphasizes immutability, functional programming, and a consistent syntax. It aims to provide a practical and efficient language for concurrent programming.
    • Paradigm: Functional programming, concurrent programming
    • Type system: Dynamic, strong typing
    • Platform: JVM
    • First release: 2007
    • Latest stable release: 1.10.1
  4. 4
    15
    votes
    Emacs Lisp is a Lisp dialect used for scripting and extending the Emacs text editor. It has a large standard library and can be used for a wide range of tasks, from text processing to web development.
  5. 5
    13
    votes

    Arc

    Arc is a minimalist Lisp dialect designed by Paul Graham, the author of the popular book "On Lisp". It is used primarily for web development and has a small but dedicated user community.
    Arc is a dialect of the Lisp programming language. It is designed to be simple, practical, and expressive, with a focus on web development. Arc emphasizes minimalist syntax and provides powerful macros that enable rapid prototyping and development. It is a dynamically typed language with garbage collection, and it features a powerful interactive REPL (Read-Eval-Print Loop) for interactive development.
    • Paradigm: Functional programming
    • Typing discipline: Dynamic
    • Language created in: 2001
    • Implementation language: Arc
    • Platform: Cross-platform
  6. 6
    6
    votes
    Racket is a general-purpose programming language based on Scheme that is used in education, research, and practical applications such as game development and web programming. It has a large standard library and a vibrant user community.
    Racket is a general-purpose, high-level functional programming language. It is a dialect of the Lisp programming language and builds upon the Scheme programming language. Racket is designed to be a platform for language creation, allowing programmers to easily develop their own languages, such as domain-specific languages (DSLs). It provides a robust and extensible environment for software development and research in language design and implementation.
    • First appeared: 1995
    • Paradigm: Functional programming
    • Typing: Static and dynamic typing
    • Platform: Cross-platform
    • Dialect of: Lisp and Scheme
  7. 7
    7
    votes
    AutoLISP is a dialect of Lisp used for programming AutoCAD, a popular computer-aided design software. It is widely used in the architectural, engineering and construction industries.
    AutoLISP is a dialect of the Lisp programming language specifically designed for extending and automating the capabilities of AutoCAD, a software application used for computer-aided design and drafting (CAD). It allows users to create custom functions and automate repetitive tasks within the AutoCAD environment.
    • First Release: 1986
    • Current Version: AutoLISP 2019
    • Based On: Common Lisp (CL)
    • Dynamic Typing: Yes
    • Function Scoping: Lexical
  8. 8
    4
    votes
    XLISP is a minimalist Lisp dialect that is used primarily for research and experimentation. It was one of the first Lisp dialects to be implemented in C, which made it faster and more portable than other Lisp dialects at the time.
    XLISP is an implementation of the Lisp programming language. It is a dialect of Lisp developed primarily for educational purposes, making it an ideal starting point for learning Lisp programming. XLISP is known for its simplicity, ease of use, and interactive development capabilities.
    • Year of creation: 1985
    • Type: Educational Lisp dialect
    • Interpreter mode: Interactive
    • Platform: Cross-platform
    • Dynamic typing: Yes
  9. 9
    7
    votes
    Franz Lisp
    Huihermit · CC0

    Franz Lisp

    Franz Inc.
    Franz Lisp is a Lisp dialect developed by Franz Inc. that is used primarily for artificial intelligence and expert systems. It has a powerful macro system and supports object-oriented programming.
    Franz Lisp is a dialect of the Lisp programming language developed by the company Franz Inc. It is designed to be an efficient and powerful Lisp system for practical programming tasks.
    • Dynamic typing: Franz Lisp supports dynamic typing, allowing for flexible and powerful programming.
    • Automatic memory management: Franz Lisp includes automatic memory management, relieving the programmer from manual memory allocation and deallocation.
    • Macros: Franz Lisp supports macros, enabling the programmer to extend the language syntax and create domain-specific abstractions.
    • CLOS: It provides an implementation of the Common Lisp Object System, which offers a powerful object-oriented programming paradigm.
    • High-performance runtime: Franz Lisp is known for its high-performance runtime, allowing for efficient execution of both small and large-scale programs.
  10. 10
    7
    votes
    NewLISP is a minimalist Lisp dialect designed for scripting and automation tasks. It has a small footprint and is easy to learn and use. It is used in a wide range of applications, from web development to system administration.
    NewLISP is a powerful and expressive scripting language that combines the simplicity of Lisp with the performance of C. It is well-suited for both scripting tasks and standalone applications.
    • Dynamic Typing: NewLISP is dynamically typed, allowing flexible variable usage.
    • Garbage Collection: NewLISP has automatic garbage collection for efficient memory management.
    • Lexical Scoping: NewLISP uses lexical scoping for variable binding.
    • Macro System: NewLISP features a powerful macro system for code transformation.
    • Built-in Functions: NewLISP provides a wide range of built-in functions for various tasks.

Missing your favorite Lisp?

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Ranking factors for popular Lisp

  1. Community size and activity
    A larger and more active community often means more support, resources, and libraries available for users.
  2. Documentation
    Well-documented dialects make it easier for users to get started, learn the language, and troubleshoot issues.
  3. Library availability
    More libraries and tools available for a dialect make it more appealing to users, as it reduces the amount of custom code needed for particular tasks.
  4. Industry adoption
    Dialects that are adopted by more companies and used in more projects are generally considered more popular.
  5. Job opportunities
    A dialect with more job opportunities typically indicates higher popularity.
  6. Ease of learning and use
    Dialects that are easier to learn and use will attract more users, making them more popular.
  7. Performance and scalability
    Dialects with better performance and scalability are generally more popular among developers working on large-scale projects.
  8. Interoperability
    A dialect that can easily interoperate with other languages and platforms is attractive to users, making it more popular.
  9. Stability and maturity
    Dialects with a long history and stable development process are generally more reliable and popular among users.
  10. Open source community
    An active open source community can contribute to the popularity of a language by providing access to free resources, tutorials, and support.

About this ranking

This is a community-based ranking of the most popular Lisp. We do our best to provide fair voting, but it is not intended to be exhaustive. So if you notice something or Lisp is missing, feel free to help improve the ranking!

Statistics

  • 1540 views
  • 128 votes
  • 10 ranked items

Movers & Shakers

Voting Rules

A participant may cast an up or down vote for each Lisp once every 24 hours. The rank of each Lisp is then calculated from the weighted sum of all up and down votes.

More information on most popular lisp

Lisp, short for "List Processing", is a programming language that was first developed in the late 1950s. It is known for its unique syntax and its ability to manipulate symbolic expressions, making it a popular choice for artificial intelligence and machine learning applications. Over the years, several variations of Lisp have been created, each with their own unique features and strengths. Some of the most popular Lisp dialects include Common Lisp, Scheme, and Clojure. In this article, we will explore the most popular Lisp dialects and highlight their key differences and use cases.

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