Hey folks, as you might've noticed, it appears newLISP is, unfortunately, no longer with us.
The main website has been down for many months now. I haven't heard anything from Lutz. I'm not sure if he's with us either.
What Lutz created will always have a special place in my heart. I've loved this language so much, and I've used it for so many personal projects.
It's such a simple, beautiful language, that it saddens me to see its story come to what appears to be an end.
However, all is not lost.
Lately, I've been exploring Janet.
This lisp-like language is also incredibly well designed. Like newLISP, it too is batteries-included in a tiny single-binary.
However, the similarities end there. Janet is a significantly more sophisticated language. In many ways it is better designed than newLISP and much more modern. It has real garbage collection, lexical closures, special syntax for non-list data structures, a sophisticated fibers-based runtime with support for real threads, a real module system, and more!
Yes, it is a bit more complicated than newLISP, and newLISP's simplicity is a significant part of its appeal. However, there really are no better options AFAICT, and we small-language communities need to stick together!
I encourage newLISPers to have a look at Janet, and consider migrating their code over using LLMs as helpful assistants. That's what I've been doing and it excites me once again to learn a new language.
newLISP, we love you, we're sad to see you go.
Thank you for all of your work, Lutz!
You've forever set an example of the power of simplicity, and the power of Lisp.
The main website has been down for many months now. I haven't heard anything from Lutz. I'm not sure if he's with us either.
What Lutz created will always have a special place in my heart. I've loved this language so much, and I've used it for so many personal projects.
It's such a simple, beautiful language, that it saddens me to see its story come to what appears to be an end.
However, all is not lost.
Lately, I've been exploring Janet.
This lisp-like language is also incredibly well designed. Like newLISP, it too is batteries-included in a tiny single-binary.
However, the similarities end there. Janet is a significantly more sophisticated language. In many ways it is better designed than newLISP and much more modern. It has real garbage collection, lexical closures, special syntax for non-list data structures, a sophisticated fibers-based runtime with support for real threads, a real module system, and more!
Yes, it is a bit more complicated than newLISP, and newLISP's simplicity is a significant part of its appeal. However, there really are no better options AFAICT, and we small-language communities need to stick together!
I encourage newLISPers to have a look at Janet, and consider migrating their code over using LLMs as helpful assistants. That's what I've been doing and it excites me once again to learn a new language.
newLISP, we love you, we're sad to see you go.
Thank you for all of your work, Lutz!
You've forever set an example of the power of simplicity, and the power of Lisp.
