Why can't there be a LISP dialect/system that directly translates to optimal machine code?

This page summarizes the projects mentioned and recommended in the original post on /r/lisp

JetBrains - Tell us how you use coding tools. You may win a prize!
Are you a developer or a data analyst? Share your thoughts about your coding tools in our short survey and get a chance to win prizes!
surveys.jetbrains.com
featured
Sevalla - Deploy and host your apps and databases, now with $50 credit!
Sevalla is the PaaS you have been looking for! Advanced deployment pipelines, usage-based pricing, preview apps, templates, human support by developers, and much more!
sevalla.com
featured
  1. maru

    Maru - a tiny self-hosting lisp dialect (by attila-lendvai)

    That's the idea behind the Maru Project. It's a really cool concept and more people should know about it.

  2. JetBrains

    Tell us how you use coding tools. You may win a prize! Are you a developer or a data analyst? Share your thoughts about your coding tools in our short survey and get a chance to win prizes!

    JetBrains logo
  3. clasp

    clasp Common Lisp environment (by clasp-developers)

    Take a simple Common Lisp expression and turn it into a simple machine language representation sounds simple - but it isn't. With modern processors it has become a very complex process. We are developing "Clasp" a Common Lisp implementation that uses llvm as its backend. (https://github.com/clasp-developers/clasp.git)

NOTE: The number of mentions on this list indicates mentions on common posts plus user suggested alternatives. Hence, a higher number means a more popular project.

Suggest a related project

Related posts

  • On `eval` in dynamic languages generally and in Racket specifically (2011)

    2 projects | news.ycombinator.com | 30 May 2025
  • Steps Toward the Reinvention of Programming [pdf]

    2 projects | news.ycombinator.com | 11 Mar 2025
  • C Is Not a Low-level Language – Your computer is not a fast PDP-11

    5 projects | news.ycombinator.com | 16 Oct 2023
  • Maru - a tiny self-hosting lisp dialect. Developed as part of Alan Kay's Fundamentals of New Computing.

    1 project | /r/lisp | 15 Feb 2023
  • About making a self hosting programming language

    1 project | /r/ProgrammingLanguages | 16 Aug 2021

Did you know that C++ is
the 7th most popular programming language
based on number of references?