engineering

LISP (book)

LISP (book) is a engineering topic covered in the lgStudy science library. This page brings together a partial reference excerpt, illustrations, worked examples, real-world applications and a short study plan, so you can understand LISP (book) rather than just read about it. In short: LISP is a university textbook on the Lisp programming language, written by Patrick Henry Winston and Berthold Klaus Paul Horn. It was first published in 1981, and the third edition of the book was released in 1989.

Key takeaways

LISP (book) belongs to engineering; place it in that map before memorising details.
Learn the definition first, then one example that makes the definition concrete.
Connect LISP (book) to a quantity you can measure, compute or draw — that is where exam questions come from.
Reproduce the core statement of LISP (book) from memory before moving on to harder problems.

Reference excerpt

LISP is a university textbook on the Lisp programming language, written by Patrick Henry Winston and Berthold Klaus Paul Horn. It was first published in 1981, and the third edition of the book was released in 1989. The book is intended to introduce the Lisp programming language and its applications.

Editions Three editions were published in 1981, 1984, and 1989 respectively. The first edition replaced part 2 in the first edition of Artificial Intelligence (Winston), and introduced the use of Maclisp, along with an appendix for Interlisp users. The second edition introduced Common Lisp and Flavors. The third edition added the Common Lisp Object System, along with improved procedure definitions, and added topics.

Content LISP covers the basics of the language using the Common Lisp standard including the Common Lisp Object System (CLOS). Applications are drawn from expert systems, natural language interfaces, symbolic mathematics, probability bounds, project simulation, and visual object recognition. Problem solving paradigms including search, forward chaining, and problem reduction are explained. Constraint propagation, and backward chaining are discussed. Other topics include mapping, streams, and delayed evaluation.

Reception In Computers and the Humanities Volume 17, No. 1 (1983), The first edition of LISP was reviewed by Denis L. Baggi. He credited the books organization, progression and the part two practical implementations, but questioned the use of Maclisp for the examples. Standard Lisp (created for the Reduce computer algebra system) was suggested as a better choice. Daniel Weinreb reviewed the 2nd edition for ACM SIGPLAN Lisp Pointers. He noted significant improvements in the example code, facilitated by the use of Common Lisp, instead of being limited to the lowest common denominator code, driven by the diverse Lisp dialects of the past. He highlighted the quality of book design and example code presentation, saying the text was clear and well-organized. He recommended that users of the book have a firm grounding in some programming language or be willing to put in extra effort. The code examples were highlighted as being the strength of the book, being small enough to understand, but large enough to illustrate and motivate important techniques in symbolic programming. In a 1993 review of Artificial Intelligence (Winston) by Doris Appleby, the 1989 edition of LISP was reviewed in its role as a companion reference. Appleby found the book worked best as a text when a technique was described, followed by a toy system, then a commercial application. Backward chaining, Zookeeper, and MYCIN were mentioned as examples. The supplied sample code for rule-based systems, and version space learning was highlighted as supporting the text quite well. In Paradigms of AI Programming, Peter Norvig suggested a number of introductory Lisp textbooks. LISP was highlighted as covering the most ground in terms of programming advice, with the caveat that it may be difficult for beginners. Cited subject areas included pattern matching, logic programming, and Lisp interpreter development.

References

See also Paradigms of AI Programming Artificial Intelligence (book)

External links "Books of Patrick Henry Winson and Friends". Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "Lisp (Third Edition)---From the Back Cover". Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "Illustrative Lisp software is available in a zip file". Massachusetts Institute of Technology. "WINSTON: Source code from Winston's Lisp book, 3rd edition". Carnegie Mellon University. "ftp.ai.mit.edu/pub/books-by-phw/lisp3/ (ftp)". Massachusetts Institute of Technology. Archived from the original on 2024-01-20.

Worked examples

Example 1 — a first encounter with LISP (book)

Start with the simplest possible case. Write down what LISP (book) claims or describes in one sentence, then invent the smallest concrete situation in which that sentence is true. In engineering, the smallest case is usually a single object, a single equation or a single measurement. Check that every symbol or term in your sentence has a meaning in that case.

Example 2 — changing one variable

Take the situation from Example 1 and change exactly one quantity: double it, halve it, or set it to zero. Predict what should happen to LISP (book) before you calculate. Comparing your prediction with the result is the fastest way to find out whether you understand the idea or only the words.

Example 3 — an exam-style question

Typical questions about LISP (book) ask you to (a) state it precisely, (b) apply it to given data, and (c) explain a limitation. Practise writing all three answers in under five minutes; the third part is what separates a full-mark answer from an average one.

Applications of LISP (book)

In research: LISP (book) appears in engineering research whenever the underlying quantities have to be modelled precisely. Papers usually cite it as a starting assumption and then explore where it breaks down.
In technology and industry: Engineering practice reuses LISP (book) in design rules, simulations and safety margins. Knowing the idea lets you read a specification sheet and understand why the numbers look the way they do.
In the classroom: LISP (book) is common in secondary-school and first-year university syllabi. It links to neighbouring topics 1981 English-language non-fiction books, 1981 non-fiction books, 1984 English-language non-fiction books, so understanding it makes those chapters shorter.
In everyday life: Look for LISP (book) outside the textbook — in sport, cooking, traffic, electronics or the sky above you. An example you found yourself is remembered far longer than one you were given.

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How to study LISP (book) in 20 minutes

Read the reference excerpt below once, without taking notes.
Close the page and write down what LISP (book) means in your own words.
Compare your version with the excerpt and mark what you missed.
Work through the three examples above with pen and paper.
Explain LISP (book) out loud to somebody else — or to Teacher Smith in the lgStudy chat.

Frequently asked questions

What is LISP (book) in simple terms?

Why does LISP (book) matter?

Because it connects several engineering ideas at once: it gives you a definition you can apply, a quantity you can calculate, and a way to check whether a result is plausible.

How should I study LISP (book)?

Read the excerpt, restate it from memory, then work through the examples and applications listed on this page. The five-step study plan above takes about twenty minutes.

What does this page cover?

It gives you a compact reference excerpt plus original lgStudy explanations, examples, applications and study material on LISP (book).