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Allegro CL VS CMU Common Lisp

Compare Allegro CL VS CMU Common Lisp and see what are their differences

Allegro CL logo Allegro CL

Leading commercial Enterprise Development Tools and dynamic object-oriented Common Lisp development tools including Allegro CL with AllegroCache, an Object Database that provides Object Persistence in Lisp, native to the Lisp langauge.

CMU Common Lisp logo CMU Common Lisp

CMUCL is a high-performance, free Common Lisp implementation.
  • Allegro CL Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-10-17
  • CMU Common Lisp Landing page
    Landing page //
    2019-04-15

Allegro CL features and specs

  • Performance
    Allegro CL is known for its high-performance execution, making it well-suited for complex applications that require efficient computation.
  • Rich Development Environment
    It offers a comprehensive IDE with features like a graphical debugger, advanced code analysis tools, and an interface builder that enhances productivity.
  • Advanced Features
    Allegro CL includes sophisticated features such as an object-oriented database, multi-threading capability, and a robust set of libraries.
  • Dynamic Language
    As a Lisp dialect, it supports dynamic typing, interactive development, and excellent support for iterative and agile software development methodologies.
  • Customer Support
    Franz Inc. provides robust support, including maintenance and professional services, which can be beneficial for enterprises.

Possible disadvantages of Allegro CL

  • Cost
    Allegro CL is a commercial product, which can be expensive compared to free or open-source alternatives, potentially limiting accessibility for hobbyists or small startups.
  • Niche Market
    The use of Lisp and particularly Allegro CL within industry is relatively niche, meaning fewer community resources and third-party integrations compared to more mainstream languages.
  • Learning Curve
    Lisp languages, including Allegro CL, can have a steep learning curve, especially for programmers accustomed to more conventional programming languages.
  • Portability
    While Allegro CL supports various platforms, certain applications or dependencies might not port as seamlessly as with more ubiquitous languages or systems.
  • Modern Language Features
    Although Allegro CL is powerful, it might lack some of the syntactic sugar and modern conveniences found in newer programming languages, potentially affecting developer convenience.

CMU Common Lisp features and specs

  • High-Performance Compiler
    CMU Common Lisp features an efficient native code compiler that can produce highly optimized code for the supported platforms, enhancing performance for computationally-intensive applications.
  • Extensive Library Support
    Includes a wide variety of libraries, providing functionality ranging from numerical computing to system interfacing, which allows developers to implement diverse applications without relying heavily on external packages.
  • Strong Typing System
    CMUCL provides a strong type system with good error detection and optimization capabilities that can help catch errors at compile-time and improve runtime performance.
  • Garbage Collection
    It includes an efficient garbage collector that manages memory naturally, minimizing manual intervention and reducing memory leaks and fragmentation in applications.
  • Comprehensive Integrated Development Environment
    CMUCL comes with an integrated environment which includes a debugger, inspector, and an interface for efficient development and troubleshooting.

Possible disadvantages of CMU Common Lisp

  • Limited Platform Support
    The number of platforms explicitly supported by CMUCL is limited, which can be a constraint for developers who need to work across multiple or newer systems.
  • Steep Learning Curve
    Newcomers might find CMUCL challenging due to its complexity and the intricate features specific to Lisp, requiring a steep learning curve compared to more modern languages and environments.
  • Outdated Documentation
    Some users find the documentation to be outdated or not comprehensive enough, making it difficult to get started and fully leverage the system's capabilities.
  • Limited Community Support
    The user and contributor community for CMUCL is relatively small compared to other languages and projects, which may result in less frequent updates and fewer third-party resources.
  • Complex Setup Process
    Initial setup and configuration of CMUCL can be cumbersome, especially for users not familiar with Lisp environments or those who require specific custom configurations.

Allegro CL videos

New features in Allegro CL's Common Graphics and the IDE

More videos:

  • Review - Yamaha Allegro Clarinet 550AL Review

CMU Common Lisp videos

No CMU Common Lisp videos yet. You could help us improve this page by suggesting one.

Add video

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Allegro CL and CMU Common Lisp)
IDE
49 49%
51% 51
Programming Language
38 38%
62% 62
OOP
41 41%
59% 59
Text Editors
43 43%
57% 57

User comments

Share your experience with using Allegro CL and CMU Common Lisp. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Allegro CL seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 1 time since March 2021. We are tracking product recommendations and mentions on various public social media platforms and blogs. They can help you identify which product is more popular and what people think of it.

Allegro CL mentions (1)

  • We need to talk about parentheses
    Sure, mainly I mean like, "Lisp's feature X enabled us to do thing Y that we couldn't do in other languages which let us make baller software Z". I think other languages arguably have this stuff: C/C++/Rust have direct hardware access and speed, JavaScript has the browser, etc. It's a little hard for me to pick out exactly what makes Allegro CL [0] good at the AI thing. They do say you can also write rules in... - Source: Hacker News / about 1 year ago

CMU Common Lisp mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of CMU Common Lisp yet. Tracking of CMU Common Lisp recommendations started around Mar 2021.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Allegro CL and CMU Common Lisp, you can also consider the following products

Steel Bank Common Lisp - Steel Bank Common Lisp (SBCL) is a high performance Common Lisp compiler.

CLISP - CLISP is a portable ANSI Common Lisp implementation and development environment by Bruno Haible.

Clozure Common Lisp - Clozure CL (often called CCL for short) is a free Common Lisp implementation with a long history.

ManKai Common Lisp - ManKai Common Lisp (MKCL) aims to be a full implementation of the Common Lisp language in...

Hy - Hy is a wonderful dialect of Lisp that’s embedded in Python.

Armed Bear Common Lisp - Armed Bear Common Lisp (ABCL) is a full implementation of the Common Lisp language featuring both...