Asp Forum - Common Lisp draft standard pdf

Currell Berry

10/9/2015 11:10:00 PM

Hello Lispers,

Looking around the web I couldn't find an accessible copy of the CL standard draft. Sites like http://naggum.n... and http://www.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs/project/ai-repository/ai/lang/lisp/doc/standard/a... host individual postscript chapters and the sources of the draft, respectively, but neither of these formats is very accessible for easy reading.

I combined Erik Naggum's postscript files into one pdf. It is available frome here: http://cvberry.com/Links.....

According to Franz's website the final draft of the standard is complete except for "boilerplate and formatting" changes which have "no technical implications." http://franz.com/search/search-ansi-a... . I have not compared the contents of the draft with the real document, but it sounds like the draft is close enough that you can use it for most purposes.

Cheers,
Currell Berry

6 Answers

rpw3

10/10/2015 12:43:00 PM

<currellberry@gmail.com> wrote:
+---------------
| Looking around the web I couldn't find an accessible copy
| of the CL standard draft. ... I combined Erik Naggum's
| postscript files into one pdf. ... I have not compared
| the contents of the draft with the real document, but it
| sounds like the draft is close enough that you can use it
| for most purposes.
+---------------

Just curious... Why would you bother with a clumsy PDF draft
when you can get yourself a local copy of the final standard
in HTML format [so all the hyperlinks work] for *free*?!?!?

http://www.lispworks.com/documentation/common...
The Common Lisp HyperSpec is the acclaimed online version
of the ANSI Common Lisp Standard, suitable for LispWorks
users. The HyperSpec is derived from the official standard
with permission from ANSI and NCITS (previously known as X3).
It contains the full text of the ANSI standard and ancillary
information.
...
While the ANSI document remains the official standard,
we think that in practice you'll find the Common Lisp
HyperSpec much easier to navigate and use than its
paper/PDF alternative.
...
The Common Lisp HyperSpec consumes just over 15MB of
disk storage in about 2300 files. It contains approximately
105,000 hyperlinks!

This HTML document may, subject to certain conditions,
be downloaded[1] for use at other locations.

[1] ftp://ftp.lispworks.com/pub/software_tools/reference/HyperSpec-...

Besides the internal hyperlinks, there are also a number of
tools available for Emacs [and maybe other editors] that can
pop up the relevant HyperSpec entry (entries) about the symbol
under your editing cursor. [The HyperSpec tarball contains
index files that make it easy to write customized tools
yourself, if you like.]

I have local copies on all my development machines and
laptops, so I don't have to keep beating up on the LispWorks
web site. [Also useful when offline with no net access.]

-Rob

-----
Rob Warnock <rpw3@rpw3.org>
627 26th Avenue <http://rpw...
San Mateo, CA 94403

Matthew Carter

10/11/2015 1:58:00 AM

rpw3@rpw3.org (Rob Warnock) writes:

> <currellberry@gmail.com> wrote:
> +---------------
> | Looking around the web I couldn't find an accessible copy
> | of the CL standard draft. ... I combined Erik Naggum's
> | postscript files into one pdf. ... I have not compared
> | the contents of the draft with the real document, but it
> | sounds like the draft is close enough that you can use it
> | for most purposes.
> +---------------
>
> Just curious... Why would you bother with a clumsy PDF draft
> when you can get yourself a local copy of the final standard
> in HTML format [so all the hyperlinks work] for *free*?!?!?
>
> http://www.lispworks.com/documentation/common...
> The Common Lisp HyperSpec is the acclaimed online version
> of the ANSI Common Lisp Standard, suitable for LispWorks
> users. The HyperSpec is derived from the official standard
> with permission from ANSI and NCITS (previously known as X3).
> It contains the full text of the ANSI standard and ancillary
> information.
> ...
> While the ANSI document remains the official standard,
> we think that in practice you'll find the Common Lisp
> HyperSpec much easier to navigate and use than its
> paper/PDF alternative.
> ...
> The Common Lisp HyperSpec consumes just over 15MB of
> disk storage in about 2300 files. It contains approximately
> 105,000 hyperlinks!
>
> This HTML document may, subject to certain conditions,
> be downloaded[1] for use at other locations.
>
> [1] ftp://ftp.lispworks.com/pub/software_tools/reference/HyperSpec-...
>
> Besides the internal hyperlinks, there are also a number of
> tools available for Emacs [and maybe other editors] that can
> pop up the relevant HyperSpec entry (entries) about the symbol
> under your editing cursor. [The HyperSpec tarball contains
> index files that make it easy to write customized tools
> yourself, if you like.]
>
> I have local copies on all my development machines and
> laptops, so I don't have to keep beating up on the LispWorks
> web site. [Also useful when offline with no net access.]
>
>
> -Rob
>
> -----
> Rob Warnock <rpw3@rpw3.org>
> 627 26th Avenue <http://rpw...
> San Mateo, CA 94403

Nice Rob - is there a specific emac's plugin you use for this
integration or do you write some custom elisp just for your own use?

--
Matthew Carter (m@ahungry.com)
http://a...

Currell Berry

10/11/2015 2:20:00 AM

On Saturday, October 10, 2015 at 8:50:10 AM UTC-4, Rob Warnock wrote:
> <currellberry@gmail.com> wrote:
> +---------------
> | Looking around the web I couldn't find an accessible copy
> | of the CL standard draft. ... I combined Erik Naggum's
> | postscript files into one pdf. ... I have not compared
> | the contents of the draft with the real document, but it
> | sounds like the draft is close enough that you can use it
> | for most purposes.
> +---------------
>
> Just curious... Why would you bother with a clumsy PDF draft
> when you can get yourself a local copy of the final standard
> in HTML format [so all the hyperlinks work] for *free*?!?!?
>
> http://www.lispworks.com/documentation/common...
> The Common Lisp HyperSpec is the acclaimed online version
> of the ANSI Common Lisp Standard, suitable for LispWorks
> users. The HyperSpec is derived from the official standard
> with permission from ANSI and NCITS (previously known as X3).
> It contains the full text of the ANSI standard and ancillary
> information.
> ...
> While the ANSI document remains the official standard,
> we think that in practice you'll find the Common Lisp
> HyperSpec much easier to navigate and use than its
> paper/PDF alternative.
> ...
> The Common Lisp HyperSpec consumes just over 15MB of
> disk storage in about 2300 files. It contains approximately
> 105,000 hyperlinks!
>
> This HTML document may, subject to certain conditions,
> be downloaded[1] for use at other locations.
>
> [1] ftp://ftp.lispworks.com/pub/software_tools/reference/HyperSpec-...
>
> Besides the internal hyperlinks, there are also a number of
> tools available for Emacs [and maybe other editors] that can
> pop up the relevant HyperSpec entry (entries) about the symbol
> under your editing cursor. [The HyperSpec tarball contains
> index files that make it easy to write customized tools
> yourself, if you like.]
>
> I have local copies on all my development machines and
> laptops, so I don't have to keep beating up on the LispWorks
> web site. [Also useful when offline with no net access.]
>
>
> -Rob
>
> -----
> Rob Warnock <rpw3@rpw3.org>
> 627 26th Avenue <http://rpw...
> San Mateo, CA 94403

The hyperspec is definitely useful for reference on symbols, however it is very difficult to read it through as a cohesive document in my opinion. The hyperspec was created in the early days of "hypertext" and employs many, many links, which can make it hard to actually read.

For example, it takes four clicks from the hyperspec home page to access the first two sentences of the standard -- and all you get is a page with the first two sentences. (Contents->Introduction->Scope Purpose and History->Scope and Purpose).

In any case, if you want a free pdf version of the draft standard you have that option now.

Currell Berry

10/11/2015 2:24:00 AM

On Saturday, October 10, 2015 at 9:57:47 PM UTC-4, Matthew Carter wrote:
> rpw3@rpw3.org (Rob Warnock) writes:
>
> > <currellberry@gmail.com> wrote:
> > +---------------
> > | Looking around the web I couldn't find an accessible copy
> > | of the CL standard draft. ... I combined Erik Naggum's
> > | postscript files into one pdf. ... I have not compared
> > | the contents of the draft with the real document, but it
> > | sounds like the draft is close enough that you can use it
> > | for most purposes.
> > +---------------
> >
> > Just curious... Why would you bother with a clumsy PDF draft
> > when you can get yourself a local copy of the final standard
> > in HTML format [so all the hyperlinks work] for *free*?!?!?
> >
> > http://www.lispworks.com/documentation/common...
> > The Common Lisp HyperSpec is the acclaimed online version
> > of the ANSI Common Lisp Standard, suitable for LispWorks
> > users. The HyperSpec is derived from the official standard
> > with permission from ANSI and NCITS (previously known as X3).
> > It contains the full text of the ANSI standard and ancillary
> > information.
> > ...
> > While the ANSI document remains the official standard,
> > we think that in practice you'll find the Common Lisp
> > HyperSpec much easier to navigate and use than its
> > paper/PDF alternative.
> > ...
> > The Common Lisp HyperSpec consumes just over 15MB of
> > disk storage in about 2300 files. It contains approximately
> > 105,000 hyperlinks!
> >
> > This HTML document may, subject to certain conditions,
> > be downloaded[1] for use at other locations.
> >
> > [1] ftp://ftp.lispworks.com/pub/software_tools/reference/HyperSpec-...
> >
> > Besides the internal hyperlinks, there are also a number of
> > tools available for Emacs [and maybe other editors] that can
> > pop up the relevant HyperSpec entry (entries) about the symbol
> > under your editing cursor. [The HyperSpec tarball contains
> > index files that make it easy to write customized tools
> > yourself, if you like.]
> >
> > I have local copies on all my development machines and
> > laptops, so I don't have to keep beating up on the LispWorks
> > web site. [Also useful when offline with no net access.]
> >
> >
> > -Rob
> >
> > -----
> > Rob Warnock <rpw3@rpw3.org>
> > 627 26th Avenue <http://rpw...
> > San Mateo, CA 94403
>
> Nice Rob - is there a specific emac's plugin you use for this
> integration or do you write some custom elisp just for your own use?
>
> --
> Matthew Carter (m@ahungry.com)
> http://a...

Probably he is just referring to the built-in features in SLIME. SLIME has a function "slime-documentation-lookup" which does what he describes. On my emacs installation this function is bound to C-c C-d h.

rpw3

10/11/2015 9:56:00 AM

<currellberry@gmail.com> wrote:
+---------------
| Matthew Carter wrote:
| > rpw3@rpw3.org (Rob Warnock) writes:
| > > Besides the internal hyperlinks, there are also a number of
| > > tools available for Emacs [and maybe other editors] that can
| > > pop up the relevant HyperSpec entry (entries) about the symbol
| > > under your editing cursor. [The HyperSpec tarball contains
| > > index files that make it easy to write customized tools
| > > yourself, if you like.]
....
| > Nice Rob - is there a specific emac's plugin you use for this
| > integration or do you write some custom elisp just for your own use?
|
| Probably he is just referring to the built-in features in SLIME.
| SLIME has a function "slime-documentation-lookup" which does
| what he describes. On my emacs installation this function is
| bound to C-c C-d h.
+---------------

Yes, exactly what I was thinking of. I've also heard that
"ilisp" mode has some support for the CLHS. Plus there are
various random tools like this:

http://homepage1.nifty.com/bmonkey/emacs/elis...
;;; cldoc.el --- show Common Lisp operators and variables
;;; information in echo area
...
;; cldoc.el is basically an eldoc clone for Common Lisp.

-Rob

p.s.
I must confess that I don't use any Emacs-based tools myself,
since I don't use Emacs [it hurts my fingers]. I use Vi,
which works quite well enough for me. [No flames about this
please; I have discussed my choice of editors in some detail
previously, more than once.] But I coded up a trivial CGI
script [in CL!] that runs on my local web server [even my
laptops run Apache] and implements a search function that
greps the file "HyperSpec/Data/Symbol-Table.text" and emits
a page of clickable links to partial-match "hits" [or an
immediate HTTP redirect to the CLHS page if there's only
one hit]. And that suffices for me.

-----
Rob Warnock <rpw3@rpw3.org>
627 26th Avenue <http://rpw...
San Mateo, CA 94403

rpw3

10/11/2015 12:38:00 PM

<currellberry@gmail.com> wrote:
+---------------
| Rob Warnock wrote:
| > Just curious... Why would you bother with a clumsy PDF draft
| > when you can get yourself a local copy of the final standard
| > in HTML format [so all the hyperlinks work] for *free*?!?!?
| > http://www.lispworks.com/documentation/common...
| > ftp://ftp.lispworks.com/pub/software_tools/reference/HyperSpec-...
|
| The hyperspec is definitely useful for reference on symbols,
| however it is very difficult to read it through as a cohesive
| document in my opinion.
+---------------

Well, as it says in "1.1.1 Scope and Purpose":

It is a language specification aimed at an audience
of implementors and knowledgeable programmers. It is
neither a tutorial nor an implementation guide.

That said, though, I have found that the first half-dozen
or so chapters can be read in a fairly coherent fashion
by starting at "1. Introduction" and just clicking on
the right-arrow "Next" button at the top of each page.

I generally find this a quite acceptable order of reading
when I'm just trying to refresh my memory about a certain
area I may have glossed over previously. But of course YMMV.

One tweak: When you get to a chapter's "dictionary" page,
the easiest way to skip over that whole section is to
scroll down, click on the last dictionary entry, and
then click on the right-arrow "Next" button at the top
of *that* page. That will (usually?) put you one the
first page of the next chapter.

+---------------
| The hyperspec was created in the early days of "hypertext"
| and employs many, many links, which can make it hard to
| actually read.
+---------------

Kent Pitman [the creator of the CLHS, the hypertext version
of the ANSI CL Standard] has written at some length here
in the past [e.g., see <news:sfwlnglev0v.fsf@world.std.com>]
about the process of turning the ANSI CL Standard into the
CLHS [and, indeed, also about turning CLTL1 into ANSI CL],
and especially about the significance of the various fonts
used and the difficulties of getting all occurences to match
the intended connotation.

But you are correct that only a very small number of fonts
[styles, really] were used in the CLHS, basically only Roman,
italic (<I>), bold (<B>), and fixed-width (<TT>) [see the
HTML source for CLHS "1.4.1.1 Font Key"]. As it says
in the page "About the Common Lisp HyperSpec":

Additional Disclaimers
Not all notations in that TeX-based document were possible
to represent exactly in HTML, although an attempt has been
made to be as accurate as possible.

And as Kent said in the above-referenced netnews article:

Incidentally, one "minor" difference in CLHS vs the hardcopy
standard is that it uses only one kind of "italic"; there
are really two kinds of italic (slant and true italic) in
the hardcopy version. Fortunately for you, I worked very
hard to make sure that there was never a slant word that
didn't have its italic meaning, so the fact that the HyperSpec
merges those two sometimes makes things look more ambiguous
but does not (probably) introduce active inconsistency.

+---------------
| For example, it takes four clicks from the hyperspec home page
| to access the first two sentences of the standard -- and all
| you get is a page with the first two sentences. (Contents->
| Introduction->Scope Purpose and History->Scope and Purpose).
+---------------

As suggested above, Contents->Introduction->[RightArrow]->[RightArrow]
gets you all the way to "1.1.1 Scope and Purpose", which has
a paragraph of three longish sentences. And one more ->[RightArrow]
gets you to "1.1.2 History", which is 15 rather longish paragraphs.
You don't even have to move the mouse for the last three clicks! ;-} ;-}

Anyway, you might consider making up your own index page that
points into the places in the CLHS you visit a lot. I've found
that it helps a lot. [CLHS "Selected Highlights" might be a
good starting point.]

+---------------
| In any case, if you want a free pdf version of the draft
| standard you have that option now.
+---------------

So noted, thanks.

-Rob

-----
Rob Warnock <rpw3@rpw3.org>
627 26th Avenue <http://rpw...
San Mateo, CA 94403

comp.lang.lisp

Common Lisp draft standard pdf

Currell Berry

rpw3

Matthew Carter

Currell Berry

Currell Berry

rpw3

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