On Lisp explains the reasons behind Lisp's growing popularity as a mainstream programming language. On Lisp is a comprehensive study of advanced Lisp techniques, with bottom-up programming as the unifying theme. It gives the first complete description of macros and macro applications. The book also covers important subjects related to bottom-up programming, including functional programming, rapid prototyping, interactive development, and embedded languages. The final chapter takes a deeper look at object-oriented programming than previous Lisp books, showing the step-by-step construction of a working model of the Common Lisp Object System (CLOS). As well as an indispensable reference, On Lisp is a source of software. Its examples form a library of functions and macros that readers will be able to use in their own Lisp programs.

    Its fundamentals are data abstraction, inheritance and dynamic binding. But it is not enough to understand these concepts; one must also learn how to make good use of them. This book covers the basic concepts of OOP, shows typical application patterns, gives useful design hints, and finally presents the design and implementation of an object-oriented window system with an integrated text and graphics editor. The language used throughout this book is Oberon-2, a clean and type-safe language designed at ETH Zurich. However, the emphasis of the book is not on the language but on the concepts of OOP. They can easily be transferred to any other object-oriented language. The book is aimed at students of computer science as well as at practitioners who want to gain a perspective on modern software development techniques.