cl-lsp VS ctags

How this compares to using cl-lsp[1] with Neovim?

[1]: https://github.com/cxxxr/cl-lsp

Does this count? https://github.com/cxxxr/cl-lsp

It's a great article. Since then, we have more tools and resources so we can enhance it:

Pick and Editor

The article is right that you can start with anything. Just `load` your .lisp file in the REPL. But even in Vim, Sublime Text, and Atom [and also VSCode] you can get pretty good to very good support. See https://lispcookbook.github.io/cl-cookbook/editor-support.ht... (also Lem, a CL editor that works for other languages, Jupyter notebooks, Eclipse (basic support) and LispWorks (proprietary, advanced graphical tools).

> if anyone is interested in making a Common Lisp LSP language server, I think it would be a hugely useful contribution to the community.

Here's a new project used for VSCode: https://github.com/nobody-famous/alive-lsp There's also https://github.com/cxxxr/cl-lsp

Other resources

I already linked to it, but the Cookbook (to which I contribute) is a useful reference to see code and get things done, quickly. https://lispcookbook.github.io/cl-cookbook/

While I'm at it, my first shameless plug: after my tutorials written for the Cookbook and my blog, I wanted to do more. Explain, structure, demo real-world Common Lisp. I'm creating this course (there are some free videos): https://www.udemy.com/course/common-lisp-programming/?coupon... (ongoing -50% coupon for June).

Web Development

See the Cookbook, and the awesome list (see below). We have many libraries, you still have to code for things taken for granted in other big frameworks. I have some articles on my blog.

We have new very cool kids in town, especially CLOG, that is like a GUI for the browser. Check it out: https://github.com/rabbibotton/clog

Game Development

See again the awesome-cl list. And the Kandria game, in the making, all done in CL: https://kandria.com/ (it just got accepted for a Swiss grant, congratulations).

Unit Testing

We have even more test frameworks since 2018! And some are actually good O_o

Projects

To create a full-featured CL project in one command, look no further, here's my (shameless plug again) project skeleton: https://github.com/vindarel/cl-cookieproject you'll find the equivalent for a web project, lighter alternatives in the README, and a demo video: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=XFc513MJjos&feature=youtu.be

Libraries

He doesn't mention this list, what a shame: https://github.com/CodyReichert/awesome-cl => the CL ecosystem is probably bigger than you thought. Sincerely, only recently, great packages appeared: CLOG, cl-gserver (actors concurrency), 40ants-doc, official CL support on OVH through Platform.sh, great editor add-ons (Slite test runner, Slime-star modules…), Coalton 1.0 (Haskell-like ML on top of CL), April v1.0 (APL in CL), a Qt 5 "library" (still hard to install), many more… (Clingon CLI args parser, Lish, a Lisp Shell in the making, the Consfigurator deployment service, generic-cl)…

His list is OK, I'd pick another HTTP client and another JSON library (new ones since 2018 too), but that's a detail.

BTW, see also a list of companies: https://github.com/azzamsa/awesome-lisp-companies/

Community

We are also on Discord: https://discord.gg/hhk46CE and on Libera Chat.

Implementations

CLASP (CL for C++ on LLVM) reached its v1.0, congrats. https://github.com/clasp-developers/clasp/releases/tag/1.0.0

If you’re already a vs-code user, then I get that. And the facilities do exist to do Common Lisp in vs-code: https://github.com/cxxxr/cl-lsp

Third hit on DuckDuckGo https://github.com/cxxxr/cl-lsp

You mean like cl-lsp, or the Alive Visual Studio Code extension? These are admittedly works in progress, but I'm sure you'd be very welcome to contribute since you care so much about it!

By the way, there is already https://github.com/cxxxr/cl-lsp that provides some LSP support for Common Lisp. I believe there is no need to support LSP from asdf side ... you just need to write a bridge for it. I know the author personally and since he surely does not use VS code himself, I don't know that was his motivation in making this one.

I also recommend you https://github.com/preservim/tagbar with https://ctags.io/ installed , it will map definitions (functions, enum, struct etc..) to tags and tagbar plugin allows you to open a split window with the mapped list and navigate through your file, it also enabled more advanced features for quick navigation .

grep, Ctags, Cscope, LSP

Vim has the tag feature built-in, which allows it to jump to the tags that were found by a tool like universal ctags using :h CTRL-]. See :help tags for more information on this. Fun fact: this is the approach that Vim uses when you use :help!

Requirements: You need to have a CTags implementation like universal-ctags installed on your system (on every system where you use vim).

Install https://github.com/universal-ctags/ctags

If you are heavy Vim user, you do not need anything else. For just quick browsing, simply use ctags, make sure to use universal ctags (https://ctags.io) not exuberant ctags which are no longer well maintained. Go works out of box.

Other (built-in) tools for file navigation in Vim include: :h :ls and :h :buffer to navigate in your buffer list (i.e. the files you have loaded); everything listed in [https://vimways.org/2018/death-by-a-thousand-files/](romainl's "Death by a Thousand Files" articles in vimways); using tags by installing universal-ctags to generate the tags then using any of the commands in :h tag to navigate them; setting global marks to files you use often with m[UPPERCASE LETTER] and jumping to them with `[UPPERCASE LETTER]; :h :vimgrep…

I have good news for you. Universal Ctags, an Exuberant Ctags fork and essentially its replacement, has fixed this already:

Vim has built-in functionality that works pretty similar to what you want. If you have a tags file (for example, using universal ctags), you can hit Ctrl-] (:h Ctrl-]) to jump to the declaration of any function under your cursor. Or, if you don't have a tags file, you can use gd (:h gd) to jump to a local declaration within the open file.