View source for NewLISP

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{{Infobox programming language
|name = newLISP
|logo = Nl logo libel side color 240X100.png
|logo caption = The newLISP [[dragonfly]] logo
|screenshot = <!-- Filename only -->
|screenshot caption = 
|paradigm = Multi-paradigm
|family = [[Lisp (programming language)|Lisp]]
|designer = Lutz Mueller
|developer = Lutz Mueller
|released = {{Start date and age|1991}}
|latest release version = 10.7.5
|latest release date = {{Start date and age|2019|05|12}}<ref name="Home">{{cite web |url=http://www.newlisp.org/ |title=newLISP |access-date=2018-11-20}}</ref>
|latest preview version = 10.7.4
|latest preview date = {{Start date and age|2018|09|10}}<ref name="Home" />
|typing = 
|scope = Dynamic
|programming language = 
|platform = [[IA-32]], [[x86-64]]
|operating system = [[Cross-platform]]: [[Unix]], [[Unix-like]], [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]]
|license = [[GNU General Public License|GPLv3+]]
|file ext = 
|file format = <!-- or: file formats = -->
|website = {{URL|www.newlisp.org}}
|implementations = 
|dialects = 
|influenced by = [[C (programming language)|C]], [[Common Lisp]], [[Perl]], [[Scheme (programming language)|Scheme]]
|influenced = 
}}

'''newLISP''' is a [[scripting language]], a [[Dialect (computing)|dialect]] of the [[Lisp (programming language)|Lisp]] family of [[programming language]]s. It was designed and developed by Lutz Mueller.<ref name="Interview">{{cite news |last=Walling |first=Rob |url=http://www.softwarebyrob.com/2007/04/19/interview-with-lutz-mueller-creator-of-newlisp/ |title=An Interview with Lutz Mueller, Creator of newLISP |work=Softwarebyrob.com |archive-url=https://web.archive.org/web/20071031095259/http://www.softwarebyrob.com/2007/04/19/interview-with-lutz-mueller-creator-of-newlisp/ |access-date=2018-11-20|archive-date=2007-10-31 }}</ref> Because of its small resource requirements, newLISP is excellent for embedded systems applications. Most of the functions you will ever need are already built in. This includes networking functions, support for distributed and multicore processing, and Bayesian statistics. newLISP is [[free and open-source software]] released under the [[GNU General Public License]], version 3 or later.

==History==
newLISP design is influenced by the two main [[Lisp (programming language)|Lisp]] dialects, [[Common Lisp]] and [[Scheme (programming language)|Scheme]], and by other languages like [[Pascal (programming language)|Pascal]] and [[C (programming language)|C]].{{citation needed|date=October 2013}} newLISP originated in 1991 and was originally developed on a [[Sun-4]] workstation.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.donlucio.net/index.cgi?page=Projects |title=newLISP – a LISP Scripting Language |last=Mueller |first=Lutz |website=don Lucio |access-date=2018-11-20}}</ref> It later moved to [[Windows 3.0]], where version 1.3 was released on [[CompuServe]] around 1993, then became available as a Windows [[graphical user interface]] (GUI) graphics-capable application and a [[DOS]] [[console application]] (both [[16-bit]]). In 1995, with the release of [[Windows 95]], newLISP moved to [[32-bit]].

In April 1999, newLISP was ported to [[Linux]]; some of its core algorithms were [[Rewrite (programming)|rewritten]], and all Windows-specific code removed. newLISP was released as an [[open-source software]] project licensed under the [[GNU General Public License|GPL]], and development on Windows stopped after version 6.0.25. During the first half of 2001, newLISP was ported back to Windows on the [[Cygwin]] platform without graphics abilities. In the second half of 2001, a cross-platform [[Tcl]]/[[Tk (software)|Tk]] frontend named newLISP-tk was released around version 6.3.0. In 2006, [[64-bit]] precision was introduced for integer arithmetic and for some operations on files in version 9.0.

Since the release of 6.5 in mid-2002, development has been very active, and many new features have been added.<ref>{{cite web |url=https://github.com/kosh04/newlisp |title=kosh04/newlisp |last=Kobayashi |first=Shigeru |website=GitHub |access-date=2018-11-20}}</ref>

{{Lisp}}

==Philosophy==
newLISP attempts to provide a fast, powerful, [[cross-platform]], full-featured scripting version of the language Lisp while using only a modest system resources such as [[Computer data storage|data storage]] (e.g., disk space) and [[Computer memory|memory]].<ref>{{cite web |url=http://rosettacode.org/wiki/Category:NewLISP |title=Category:newLISP |website=Rosetta Code |access-date=2018-11-20}}</ref><ref>{{cite web |url=http://www.osnews.com/story/20728/A_Look_at_newLISP |title=A look at newLISP |last=Lazar |first=Alexandru |date=5 January 2009 |work=OSNews |access-date=2018-11-20}}</ref>

It provides Lisp features such as lists, symbol processing, function mapping, [[anonymous function]]s (lambda expressions), [[s-expression]]s (excluding improper lists), and macros. It also provides the functions expected of a modern scripting language, including supporting [[regular expression]]s, [[XML]], Unicode ([[UTF-8]]), networking via [[Transmission Control Protocol]] (TCP), [[Internet Protocol]] (IP), and [[User Datagram Protocol]] (UDP), [[Matrix (mathematics)|matrix]] and [[Array data structure|array]] processing, advanced math, statistics and [[Bayesian inference|Bayesian]] statistical analysis, [[mathematical finance]], and distributed computing.

newLISP runs on the [[operating system]]s [[Berkeley Software Distribution]] (BSD), [[Linux]], [[macOS]], [[Solaris (operating system)|Solaris]], and [[Microsoft Windows|Windows]].<ref name="Home" /> It supports [[MYSQL]], [[SQLite]] and [[ODBC]] database access, [[Common Gateway Interface]] (CGI), [[Simple Mail Transfer Protocol]] (SMTP), [[Post Office Protocol]] (POP) 3, [[File Transfer Protocol]] (FTP) and XML [[remote procedure call]] ([[XML-RPC]]). It can run in server mode as a [[Daemon (computing)|daemon]].

==Language features==
{{unreferenced section|date=March 2013}}

===Contexts===
newLISP supports [[Namespace (programming)|namespaces]] termed ''contexts'', which can be assigned to [[Variable (computer science)|variables]] and passed to [[Subroutine|functions]], but which are associated with globally unique symbols, limiting their use as [[first-class citizen]]s (objects). A [[Prototype-based programming|prototype-based]] [[Object-oriented programming|object-oriented]] style of programming is possible in newLISP, using contexts as prototypes to construct [[Object (computer science)|objects]]. Variables inside contexts do not interfere with variables of the same name in other contexts, but inside a context, variables behave according to the rules of dynamic [[Scope (computer science)|scoping]].

===Scoping===
newLISP uses dynamic [[Scope (computer science)|scoping]]. When a function is called, that function can see all variables of its caller, its caller's caller, and so on, within the same context or [[namespace]]. It supports both explicitly and implicitly defined local dynamic variables that [[Variable shadowing|shadow]] variables with the same name from the outer environment, thus preventing accidental use or change of the variables from caller environment. Parameter variables of the called function automatically shadow the caller's variable environment. Globally, variables can be grouped in separate namespaces.

===Memory management===
newLISP uses a method of automatic [[memory management]] different from traditional [[Garbage collection (computer science)|garbage collection]] schemes, termed one reference only (ORO) memory management. Each variable is referenced only by its context, and each context is referenced globally.

Sharing of subobjects among [[Object (computer science)|objects]], cyclic structures, or multiple variables pointing to the same object are unsupported in newLISP. Objects are copied when stored in data structures or passed to functions, except for certain built-in functions. The exceptions are symbols and contexts, which are shared instead of copied, and thus can be used for indirection. Symbols and contexts are globally named and are deleted explicitly; deleting a symbol or context scans all other objects to replace references to it with <code>nil</code>.

===GUI options===
newLISP [[graphical user interface]] (GUI) server (newLISP-GS) is a [[Java (programming language)|Java]]-based [[Internet protocol suite]] (TCP/IP) server providing a graphical programming interface. A newLISP-GS based development environment is included in newLISP binary distributions, and [[GTK-server]], [[OpenGL]], and [[Tcl]]/[[Tk (software)|Tk]]-based programming interfaces are available.

===Standalone binaries===
Any newLISP version allows building executable files, [[portable application]]s, for deployment which are self-contained and need no installing.

===Interaction with shared libraries===
newLISP has an import function, which allows importing functions from a [[dynamic-link library]] (DLL) on [[Windows API]] Win32, or from a [[shared library]] on Linux or [[Unix]].

==Frameworks==
[[Web framework]]s available for newLISP include Dragonfly<ref>{{cite web |url=http://dragonfly.apptruck.de/ |title=Dragonfly web framework |last1=Slepak |first1=Greg |last2=Hildmann |first2=Marc |website=AppTruck |access-date=2018-11-20}}</ref> and Rockets.<ref>{{cite web |url=http://newlisponrockets.com/ |title=The newLISP on Rockets 2.0 Blog |last=Reimer |first=Jeremy |website=Rocket Man |access-date=2018-11-20}}</ref>

==References==
{{Reflist}}

==External links==
{{wikibooks|Introduction to newLISP}}
*{{Official website|www.newlisp.org}}
*{{GitHub|kosh04/newlisp}}

{{Lisp programming language}}

[[Category:Dynamically typed programming languages]]
[[Category:Functional languages]]
[[Category:Lisp programming language family]]
[[Category:Scripting languages]]