The Mysteries of Lisp -- I: The Way to S-expression Lisp

TL;DR

This paper explores the historical development of Lisp, revealing how its evolution has shaped its current form and providing insights to deepen understanding and inspire future improvements.

Contribution

It offers a detailed historical analysis of Lisp's development, addressing gaps in previous accounts and highlighting key evolutionary milestones.

Findings

Lisp's origins trace back to early symbolic computation.

The evolution of Lisp influenced modern programming language design.

Understanding Lisp's history can inspire future language improvements.

Abstract

Despite its old age, Lisp remains mysterious to many of its admirers. The mysteries on one hand fascinate the language, on the other hand also obscure it. Following Stoyan but paying attention to what he has neglected or omitted, in this first essay of a series intended to unravel these mysteries, we trace the development of Lisp back to its origin, revealing how the language has evolved into its nowadays look and feel. The insights thus gained will not only enhance existent understanding of the language but also inspires further improvement of it.