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Clojure vs Common Lisp: What are the differences?

Introduction

In this article, we will explore the key differences between Clojure and Common Lisp. Both Clojure and Common Lisp are powerful programming languages, but they have different features and philosophies that set them apart. Understanding these differences can help developers choose the right language for their specific needs.

  1. Syntax: One major difference between Clojure and Common Lisp is their syntax. Clojure is a Lisp dialect that has a more streamlined and minimalist syntax compared to Common Lisp. It uses square brackets for function calls and uses prefixes for operators, making the code more concise and easier to read. Common Lisp, on the other hand, has a more traditional and expressive syntax that uses parentheses for function calls and infix notation for operators.

  2. Concurrency: Another significant difference between Clojure and Common Lisp is their approach to concurrency. Clojure was designed from the ground up to be a concurrent programming language. It provides built-in abstractions and immutable data structures that make it easy to write concurrent and parallel code. Common Lisp, while capable of handling concurrency, lacks the built-in support and abstractions that Clojure offers.

  3. ClojureScript: Clojure has a unique advantage over Common Lisp with its ClojureScript feature. ClojureScript is a variant of Clojure that compiles to JavaScript, allowing developers to write code that runs in the browser. This feature makes Clojure a valuable choice for web development and front-end programming, as it enables developers to leverage their Clojure skills to build interactive web applications.

  4. Community: The communities around Clojure and Common Lisp also differ in size and activity. Clojure has a larger and more active community, with a growing ecosystem of libraries and frameworks. The vibrant community provides resources, support, and a wealth of knowledge for Clojure developers. Common Lisp, although having a smaller community, has a dedicated group of enthusiasts and contributors who actively maintain and enhance the language.

  5. Macros: Macros are a powerful feature in Lisp languages that allow developers to define custom syntax and extend the language capabilities. While both Clojure and Common Lisp support macros, they have different macro systems. Clojure uses a more restricted and focused approach to macros, known as "syntactic abstraction," which simplifies the macro system and makes it more predictable. Common Lisp, on the other hand, has a more traditional and powerful macro system that provides more flexibility and control but can also be more complex to use.

  6. Integration: Clojure and Common Lisp can be integrated with other programming languages, but they have different levels of integration. Clojure, being built on the Java Virtual Machine (JVM), has seamless integration with Java. This allows developers to leverage existing Java libraries and frameworks directly in their Clojure code. Common Lisp also has integration with other languages through foreign function interfaces (FFIs), but it may require more effort and expertise to achieve seamless integration compared to Clojure's JVM integration.

In summary, Clojure and Common Lisp differ in syntax, concurrency support, ClojureScript, community size, macro systems, and integration capabilities. These differences make each language suitable for different use cases and developer preferences.

Advice on Clojure and Common Lisp
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ClojureClojure
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ScalaScala

Basically, I am looking for a good language that compiles to Java and JavaScript(and can use their libraries/frameworks). These JVM languages seem good to me, but I have no interest in Android. Which programming language is the best of these? I am looking for one with high money and something functional.

Edit: Kotlin was originally on this list but I removed it since I had no interest in Android

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Replies (3)
Recommends
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ScalaScala

Clojure is a Lisp dialect, so if you like Lisp that's probably the way to go. Scala is more popular and broadly used, and has a larger job market especially for data engineering. Both are functional but Scala is more interoperable with Java libraries, probably a big factor in its popularity. I prefer Scala for a number of reasons, but in terms of jobs Scala is the clear leader.

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ScalaScala

Scala has more momentum. It is good for back-end programming. The popular big data framework Spark is written in Scala. Spark is a marketable skill.

If you need to program something very dynamic like old school A.I., Clojure is attractive. You would chose Scala if prefer a statically typed language, and Clojure if you prefer a dynamically typed language.

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ivanopagano
Senior Consultant at scalac.io · | 1 upvotes · 28.4K views
Recommends

It's not clear exactly what you mean by "high money", you mean financial support to the language, money paid for a job, economic health of the market the language is positioned on?

In any case, it's very hard to give any advice here, since you'd need to provide details on the intended usage, what sector, kind of product/service, team size, potential customer type... Both languages are very general purpose and decently supported, each have its own pros and cons, both are functional as approach, and neither is really mainstream.

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Decisions about Clojure and Common Lisp

We’re a new startup so we need to be able to deliver quick changes as we find our product market fit. We’ve also got to ensure that we’re moving money safely, and keeping perfect records. The technologies we’ve chosen mix mature but well maintained frameworks like Django, with modern web-first and api-first front ends like GraphQL, NextJS, and Chakra. We use a little Golang sparingly in our backend to ensure that when we interact with financial services, we do so with statically compiled, strongly typed, and strictly limited and reviewed code.

You can read all about it in our linked blog post.

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Pros of Clojure
Pros of Common Lisp
  • 117
    It is a lisp
  • 100
    Persistent data structures
  • 100
    Concise syntax
  • 90
    jvm-based language
  • 89
    Concurrency
  • 81
    Interactive repl
  • 76
    Code is data
  • 61
    Open source
  • 61
    Lazy data structures
  • 57
    Macros
  • 49
    Functional
  • 23
    Simplistic
  • 22
    Immutable by default
  • 20
    Excellent collections
  • 19
    Fast-growing community
  • 15
    Multiple host languages
  • 15
    Simple (not easy!)
  • 15
    Practical Lisp
  • 10
    Because it's really fun to use
  • 10
    Addictive
  • 9
    Community
  • 9
    Web friendly
  • 9
    Rapid development
  • 9
    It creates Reusable code
  • 8
    Minimalist
  • 6
    Programmable programming language
  • 6
    Java interop
  • 5
    Regained interest in programming
  • 4
    Compiles to JavaScript
  • 3
    Share a lot of code with clojurescript/use on frontend
  • 3
    EDN
  • 1
    Clojurescript
  • 24
    Flexibility
  • 22
    High-performance
  • 17
    Comfortable: garbage collection, closures, macros, REPL
  • 13
    Stable
  • 12
    Lisp
  • 8
    Code is data
  • 6
    Can integrate with C (via CFFI)
  • 6
    Multi paradigm
  • 5
    Lisp is fun
  • 4
    Macros
  • 4
    Easy Setup
  • 3
    Parentheses
  • 3
    Open source
  • 3
    Purelly functional
  • 3
    Elegant
  • 1
    DSLs
  • 1
    Multiple values
  • 1
    CLOS/MOP
  • 1
    Clean semantics
  • 1
    Will still be relevant 100 years from now
  • 1
    Still decades ahead of almost all programming languages
  • 1
    Best programming language
  • 1
    Simple syntax
  • 1
    Powerful
  • 1
    Generic functions
  • 1
    Can implement almost any feature as a library
  • 1
    Formal specification, multiple implementations

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Cons of Clojure
Cons of Common Lisp
  • 11
    Cryptic stacktraces
  • 5
    Need to wrap basically every java lib
  • 4
    Toxic community
  • 3
    Good code heavily relies on local conventions
  • 3
    Tonns of abandonware
  • 3
    Slow application startup
  • 1
    Usable only with REPL
  • 1
    Hiring issues
  • 1
    It's a lisp
  • 1
    Bad documented libs
  • 1
    Macros are overused by devs
  • 1
    Tricky profiling
  • 1
    IDE with high learning curve
  • 1
    Configuration bolierplate
  • 1
    Conservative community
  • 0
    Have no good and fast fmt
  • 4
    Too many Parentheses
  • 3
    Standard did not evolve since 1994
  • 2
    Small library ecosystem
  • 2
    No hygienic macros
  • 1
    Inadequate community infrastructure
  • 1
    Ultra-conservative community

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What is Clojure?

Clojure is designed to be a general-purpose language, combining the approachability and interactive development of a scripting language with an efficient and robust infrastructure for multithreaded programming. Clojure is a compiled language - it compiles directly to JVM bytecode, yet remains completely dynamic. Clojure is a dialect of Lisp, and shares with Lisp the code-as-data philosophy and a powerful macro system.

What is Common Lisp?

Lisp was originally created as a practical mathematical notation for computer programs, influenced by the notation of Alonzo Church's lambda calculus. It quickly became the favored programming language for artificial intelligence (AI) research. As one of the earliest programming languages, Lisp pioneered many ideas in computer science, including tree data structures, automatic storage management, dynamic typing, conditionals, higher-order functions, recursion, and the self-hosting compiler. [source: wikipedia]

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What are some alternatives to Clojure and Common Lisp?
Scala
Scala is an acronym for “Scalable Language”. This means that Scala grows with you. You can play with it by typing one-line expressions and observing the results. But you can also rely on it for large mission critical systems, as many companies, including Twitter, LinkedIn, or Intel do. To some, Scala feels like a scripting language. Its syntax is concise and low ceremony; its types get out of the way because the compiler can infer them.
Haskell
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Julia
Julia is a high-level, high-performance dynamic programming language for technical computing, with syntax that is familiar to users of other technical computing environments. It provides a sophisticated compiler, distributed parallel execution, numerical accuracy, and an extensive mathematical function library.
Erlang
Some of Erlang's uses are in telecoms, banking, e-commerce, computer telephony and instant messaging. Erlang's runtime system has built-in support for concurrency, distribution and fault tolerance. OTP is set of Erlang libraries and design principles providing middle-ware to develop these systems.
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