[BrianEatWorld]

I went in expecting to see a write up on Common Lisp's CLOS[1], because at a recent Clojure Meetup, the speaker put forth the claim that CLOS is the most powerful OO system out there. He didn't have time to validate the claim, but it may be of interest to those who like this article.

[1] http://cl-cookbook.sourceforge.net/clos-tutorial/index.html

[tel]

I don't think OCaml wants to vie for "most powerful" object system. It's almost the opposite, really. OCaml's object system is "best" because it's weak in exactly the kinds of ways that make it easy to reason about and more likely to be correct.

[theevilcellist]

Was that the one in Austin last week?

Also, I highly recommend Doug Hoyte's Let Over Lambda[1] where he goes into detail about a certain duality of closures and objects.

[1] http://letoverlambda.com/

[wirrbel]

SICP does the job of demonstrating the Closure-Object relationship just as fine, without boring the reader with endless references to the superiority of Lisp, as Let Over Lambda does.

[hyperpape]

From the blurb:

"Let Over Lambda is one of the most hardcore computer programming books out there. Starting with the fundamentals, it describes the most advanced features of the most advanced language: Common Lisp. Only the top percentile of programmers use lisp and if you can understand this book you are in the top percentile of lisp programmers. If you are looking for a dry coding manual that re-hashes common-sense techniques in whatever langue du jour, this book is not for you. This book is about pushing the boundaries of what we know about programming. While this book teaches useful skills that can help solve your programming problems today and now, it has also been designed to be entertaining and inspiring. If you have ever wondered what lisp or even programming itself is really about, this is the book you have been looking for."

[wirrbel]

I should have known better when I ordered the book.

Hoyte's first intention, writing a 2nd Volume for Paul Grahams On Lisp, which goes into detail about macros, is actually quite good. It just does not live up to "Volume 1".

And about the 1 percentile and "only the best" talk: Lisp and Lisp Macros are not really "magic". They are accessible to programmers like you and me and if someone does not bother to write them it is not about lack of understanding, but lack of time it takes to write them properly.

[hyperpape]

Interesting to hear. I don't have a particular opinion about the book, beyond having heard some praise, but I do think that blurb is assinine.

[BrianEatWorld]

Thanks for the reference. I will check out that and SICP[1] as mentioned by one of your replies.

It was the Austin Meetup. The name of the presenter escapes me, but it was great overview. The topic wasn't meant to be CLOS, it was just mentioned in passing, which was why I was hoping that it was the topic of this article.

[1] http://mitpress.mit.edu/sicp/

[agumonkey]

Lisp features are often the most powerful because they're as limited as Lisp, which we all know is pretty loose on this side.

[GFK_of_xmaspast]

If I had a nickel for every "it's the best" claim made by lisp evangelists....