Software Alternatives, Accelerators & Startups

Armed Bear Common Lisp VS MIT Scheme

Compare Armed Bear Common Lisp VS MIT Scheme and see what are their differences

Armed Bear Common Lisp logo Armed Bear Common Lisp

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

MIT Scheme logo MIT Scheme

Implementation of Scheme providing an interpreter, compiler, source-code debugger, integrated Emacs-like editor, and a large run-time library
  • Armed Bear Common Lisp Landing page
    Landing page //
    2021-10-15
  • MIT Scheme Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-02-16

Armed Bear Common Lisp features and specs

  • Java Platform Integration
    Armed Bear Common Lisp (ABCL) runs on the Java Virtual Machine (JVM), allowing seamless integration with Java libraries and applications. This makes it easier to reuse existing Java code and tools, and to interact with Java-based environments.
  • Cross-platform Compatibility
    Being JVM-based, ABCL can run on any platform that supports Java, providing excellent cross-platform compatibility. This eliminates the need to worry about platform-specific issues.
  • Rich Library Support
    ABCL can leverage the vast ecosystem of Java libraries, greatly expanding the range of functionality available to Lisp programmers. This makes it more versatile when developing complex applications.
  • Active Development
    ABCL is actively maintained and developed, ensuring it stays up-to-date with improvements and bug fixes. This active development provides confidence in its reliability for production use.

Possible disadvantages of Armed Bear Common Lisp

  • Performance Overheads
    Running on the JVM introduces additional layers, which may result in performance overhead compared to natively compiled Common Lisp implementations. This might be a concern for performance-critical applications.
  • Java Dependency
    ABCL's reliance on the JVM can be a downside if a project's dependencies need to be minimized or if there are licensing issues with using Java in certain environments.
  • Limited Tooling
    Compared to some other Lisp implementations, ABCL might have limited support for Common Lisp-specific development tools and extensions, potentially affecting developer productivity.
  • Complexity of Interoperability
    Although ABCL allows integration with Java, this interoperability can introduce additional complexity, especially if developers are not familiar with the Java ecosystem.

MIT Scheme features and specs

No features have been listed yet.

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Armed Bear Common Lisp and MIT Scheme)
Programming Language
62 62%
38% 38
IDE
62 62%
38% 38
Text Editors
71 71%
29% 29
OOP
47 47%
53% 53

User comments

Share your experience with using Armed Bear Common Lisp and MIT Scheme. For example, how are they different and which one is better?
Log in or Post with

Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Armed Bear Common Lisp seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 4 times 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.

Armed Bear Common Lisp mentions (4)

  • Ask HN: Which Lisp has the best TUI libraries?
    ABCl (Armed Bear Common Lisp) is a Common Lisp that runs in the JVM. https://common-lisp.net/project/armedbear/. - Source: Hacker News / over 3 years ago
  • In your opinion, what functional programming language is most suitable for scientific / numerical computing?
    It would be good to remember that just because something runs on the jvm doesn't mean it's Java. Hell there is a common lisp that runs on the JVM (armored bear common lisp). Source: over 3 years ago
  • Machine Learning in Lisp
    In Common Lisp, - native or FFI, there are a couple of libraries: see https://github.com/CodyReichert/awesome-cl#machine-learning - besides C, there is a way to interface with Java: https://github.com/CodyReichert/awesome-cl#java ; as well as an implementation abcl that runs over JVM - there are two ways to interact with python: https://github.com/CodyReichert/awesome-cl#python - using CFFI vs streams. Source: almost 4 years ago
  • Lisp as an Alternative to Java
    Like this? https://common-lisp.net/project/armedbear/. - Source: Hacker News / about 4 years ago

MIT Scheme mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of MIT Scheme yet. Tracking of MIT Scheme recommendations started around Feb 2022.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Armed Bear Common Lisp and MIT Scheme, you can also consider the following products

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

TinyScheme - D. Souflis, J. Shapiro - TinyScheme Download site

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

CMU Common Lisp - CMUCL is a high-performance, free Common Lisp implementation.

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

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