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Common Lisp VS C (programming language)

Compare Common Lisp VS C (programming language) and see what are their differences

Contents:
  1. » Base Details
  2. » Videos
  3. » Reviews
  4. » Alternatives

Common Lisp logo Common Lisp

The modern, multi-paradigm, high-performance, compiled, ANSI-standardized descendant of the long-running family of Lisp programming languages

C (programming language) logo C (programming language)

C is a general-purpose computer programming language.
  • Common Lisp Landing page
    Landing page //
    2023-09-18

We recommend LibHunt Common Lisp for discovery and comparisons of trending Common Lisp projects.

  • C (programming language) Landing page
    Landing page //
    2022-01-31

Common Lisp features and specs

  • Powerful Macro System
    Common Lisp offers a robust macro system that allows for metaprogramming, letting developers easily extend the language and create domain-specific languages.
  • Dynamic Typing
    Common Lisp supports dynamic typing, which allows for more flexibility in coding and prototyping, reducing the amount of boilerplate code needed.
  • Interactive Development Environment
    It provides a powerful REPL (Read-Eval-Print Loop) that aids in interactive and iterative software development, enabling quick testing and debugging.
  • Portability
    Code written in Common Lisp can be run on different platforms without modification, thanks to its standardized specification and portability across implementations.
  • Rich Standard Library
    Common Lisp comes with a comprehensive standard library that includes a wide range of utilities for data manipulation, I/O operations, and more.

Possible disadvantages of Common Lisp

  • Steep Learning Curve
    The language has an extensive set of features and a unique syntax, which can be difficult for beginners to learn and master.
  • Limited Ecosystem
    Compared to more modern languages, Common Lisp has a smaller ecosystem of libraries and community support, which can hinder development speed and resources.
  • Performance Variability
    Performance can vary significantly between different implementations of Common Lisp due to variations in optimizing compilers and runtime environments.
  • Obscure Syntax
    The syntax can be difficult to read and understand, especially for those coming from more conventional languages like Python or JavaScript.
  • Commercial Use Challenges
    Common Lisp's licensing and support can be less favorable for commercial use compared to other mainstream programming languages.

C (programming language) features and specs

  • Efficiency
    C programming language is known for its performance efficiency due to minimal runtime and direct mapping to machine instructions.
  • Portability
    Programs written in C can be compiled and run on various platforms with minimal modifications, making it highly portable across systems.
  • Rich Library Support
    C provides a vast collection of libraries that offer numerous functions for tasks ranging from mathematical computations to input-output operations.
  • Flexibility
    C provides a versatile framework for writing various applications, including system software, and is suitable for low-level programming.
  • Control
    C offers extensive control over system resources and memory, which allows for efficient system programming and hardware manipulation.
  • Well-Established Standards
    C has a well-defined standardization (ANSI C), which helps maintain consistency and reliability across different applications and platforms.

Possible disadvantages of C (programming language)

  • Low-level Abstraction
    C offers little abstraction from hardware, making it necessary for programmers to manage memory and system resources directly.
  • Complex Syntax
    C programming language has a somewhat complex syntax that may be difficult for beginners to grasp.
  • Manual Memory Management
    C requires explicit memory management, increasing the risk of memory leaks and buffer overflows if not handled properly.
  • Limited Error Handling
    The language provides limited support for error handling, often requiring codes to be written for error checking manually.
  • No Built-in Object-Oriented Programming
    C does not inherently support object-oriented programming paradigms like classes and inheritance, which are prevalent in modern programming.
  • Security Vulnerabilities
    The lack of built-in security features can expose programs to vulnerabilities such as buffer overflow attacks.

Common Lisp videos

+ Add

Common Lisp Study Group - A In-depth Look into CLOS (part 1)

More videos:

  • Review - Common Lisp Study Group - Closures and Macro Basics

C (programming language) videos

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Category Popularity

0-100% (relative to Common Lisp and C (programming language))

Common Lisp

C (programming language)

Programming Language
56 56%
Programming Language
44% 44
OOP
48 48%
OOP
52% 52
Development
100 100%
Development
0% 0
Generic Programming Language
29 29%
Generic Programming Language
71% 71

User comments

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Social recommendations and mentions

Based on our record, Common Lisp seems to be more popular. It has been mentiond 11 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.

Common Lisp mentions (11)

  • Origins of the Lisp logo
    The yin-yang logo with lambdas was designed by Guy Steele, and he has granted permission for its use to Common Lisp Foundation (the entity which runs common-lisp.net website and the gitlab.common-lisp.net repo). Source: about 2 years ago
  • New open source Common Lisp 3D graphics project -- call for participation
    A wiki and pm tool I personally like a lot, simple, lightweight, is trac but there is no free hosting available — but I could work on hosting on AWS for instance. MoinMoin is also a good and simple wiki. You are using Medium a lot, which could also be a sensible option but it is more a publishing platform than a collaborative platform. Gitlab is also a popular choice I believe and we could use the instance on... Source: almost 3 years ago
  • common-lisp.net down
    Does anybody have information how the content on common-lisp.net is handled? Source: about 3 years ago
  • common-lisp.net down
    Any insight into the current down-time for common-lisp.net? Source: about 3 years ago
  • What should be my next programming language?
    Python seems like a popular option these days and it is different enough from C++ in that it may teach you to think about programming in a different way. You could also try a functional language such as Lisp, Scheme) or Haskell -- they too will make you think differently about programming. Source: over 3 years ago
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C (programming language) mentions (0)

We have not tracked any mentions of C (programming language) yet. Tracking of C (programming language) recommendations started around Mar 2021.

What are some alternatives?

When comparing Common Lisp and C (programming language), you can also consider the following products

C++ - Has imperative, object-oriented and generic programming features, while also providing the facilities for low level memory manipulation

D (Programming Language) - D is a language with C-like syntax and static typing.

Python - Python is a clear and powerful object-oriented programming language, comparable to Perl, Ruby, Scheme, or Java.

Go Programming Language - Go, also called golang, is a programming language initially developed at Google in 2007 by Robert...

Rust - A safe, concurrent, practical language

F# - F# is a mature, open source, cross-platform, functional-first programming language.

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