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Clozure Common Lisp VS ManKai Common Lisp

Compare Clozure Common Lisp VS ManKai Common Lisp and see what are their differences

Clozure Common Lisp logo Clozure Common Lisp

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

ManKai Common Lisp logo ManKai Common Lisp

ManKai Common Lisp (MKCL) aims to be a full implementation of the Common Lisp language in...
  • Clozure Common Lisp Landing page
    Landing page //
    2019-04-15
  • ManKai Common Lisp Landing page
    Landing page //
    2019-04-20

Clozure Common Lisp features and specs

  • High Performance
    Clozure Common Lisp is known for its high performance, especially in numeric computations and complex applications, due to its efficient compiler and runtime system.
  • Cross-platform Support
    CCL runs on multiple platforms including macOS, Linux, and Windows, facilitating development across different operating systems.
  • Dynamic Typing and Flexibility
    CCL, like other Lisp dialects, offers dynamic typing and flexibility which allows developers to write code that can be easily modified and extended.
  • Interactivity
    CCL provides a powerful interactive development environment with a Read-Eval-Print Loop (REPL), allowing developers to test and debug code on the fly.
  • Compatibility with Common Lisp
    Being a comprehensive implementation of Common Lisp, CCL supports a wide range of Lisp features, making it compatible with existing Common Lisp codebases.
  • Active Community
    CCL has an active community that contributes to its development and support, resulting in a wealth of libraries and resources.

Possible disadvantages of Clozure Common Lisp

  • Limited GUI Libraries
    Clozure Common Lisp's support for graphical user interfaces is limited compared to other platforms, which may require additional effort for developing desktop applications.
  • Smaller User Base
    Compared to more mainstream languages like Python or Java, CCL has a smaller user base, which may result in less community support and fewer third-party libraries.
  • Steep Learning Curve
    As with many Lisp dialects, CCL can have a steep learning curve for developers unfamiliar with Lisp syntax and concepts.
  • Less Documentation
    Although there is documentation available, it may not be as extensive or detailed as that for more widely-used languages, potentially hindering new users.
  • Interoperability Challenges
    While CCL can interoperate with C and other languages, setting this up can be complex and may pose challenges for developers needing seamless integration.

ManKai Common Lisp features and specs

  • Compatibility
    ManKai Common Lisp (MKCL) is designed to be ABI compatible with other Common Lisp implementations, which facilitates easier integration and code sharing across different environments.
  • Performance
    MKCL offers efficient performance that can be suitable for both small scripts and large systems, making it versatile for different project needs.
  • Portability
    MKCL is available on multiple platforms, supporting various operating systems which ensure that code can be easily transferred and run in different environments.
  • Open Source
    As an open-source project, MKCL allows developers to review, modify, and contribute to its source code, supporting community engagement and transparency.

Possible disadvantages of ManKai Common Lisp

  • Community Size
    The user and developer community around MKCL might be smaller compared to more popular Common Lisp implementations, potentially leading to less readily available support and resources.
  • Feature Set
    While MKCL aims for compatibility and performance, it may lack some of the advanced features found in other, more established Common Lisp environments.
  • Documentation
    The documentation for MKCL might not be as comprehensive or up-to-date as other Lisp environments, which could hinder learning and troubleshooting for new users.

Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Clozure Common Lisp and ManKai Common Lisp)
Programming Language
59 59%
41% 41
IDE
59 59%
41% 41
OOP
50 50%
50% 50
Text Editors
55 55%
45% 45

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Clozure Common Lisp seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 6 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.

Clozure Common Lisp mentions (6)

  • Graphics Livecoding in Common Lisp
    Unfortunately CCL is Intel only on macOS. (macOS is not on the the main page https://ccl.clozure.com) Otherwise this is the one I would use as it has good Cocoa interoperability. - Source: Hacker News / 10 days ago
  • The IDEs we had 30 years ago and we lost
    The descendant of CCL runs on modern Intel Macs. (It also runs on Linux and Windows but without the IDE.) The modern IDE is quite a bit different from the original. In particular, it no longer has the interface builder. But it's still pretty good. It is now called Clozure Common Lisp (so the acronym is still CCL) and you can find it here: https://ccl.clozure.com/ If you want to run the original that is a bit... - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • The Saga of the Closure Compiler, and Why TypeScript Won
    Just for fun there is also Clozure Common Lisp. https://ccl.clozure.com/. - Source: Hacker News / over 1 year ago
  • Consuming HTTP endpoint using Common Lisp
    I have decided it is time to have some fun and use Common Lisp to create algorithm representation that deals with parallel execution. For this I decided to use Clozure common lisp, put basic Qucklisp there and load some libraries to do this. - Source: dev.to / over 2 years ago
  • Corman Lisp development environment for MS Windows
    CCL also supports windows: https://ccl.clozure.com/. - Source: Hacker News / over 2 years ago
View more

ManKai Common Lisp mentions (0)

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

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Clozure Common Lisp and ManKai 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.

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.

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

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.

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