Emacs and Common Lisp Setup

This repository contains instructions for setting up a Common Lisp development environment with Emacs, SBCL, and SLIME.

Installation Guide

1. Install Emacs

Windows:

• Download from https://www.gnu.org/software/emacs/download.html
• Or use Chocolatey: choco install emacs

macOS:

• Using Homebrew: brew install emacs
• Or download from https://emacsformacosx.com/

Linux:

• Ubuntu/Debian: sudo apt-get install emacs
• Fedora: sudo dnf install emacs
• Arch: sudo pacman -S emacs

2. Install SBCL (Steel Bank Common Lisp)

Windows:

• Download from http://www.sbcl.org/platform-table.html
• Or use Chocolatey: choco install sbcl

macOS:

• Using Homebrew: brew install sbcl

Linux:

• Ubuntu/Debian: sudo apt-get install sbcl
• Fedora: sudo dnf install sbcl
• Arch: sudo pacman -S sbcl

3. Install Quicklisp (Common Lisp Package Manager)

1. Download quicklisp.lisp from https://www.quicklisp.org/beta/
2. Start SBCL and run:

   (load "quicklisp.lisp")
   (quicklisp-quickstart:install)
   (ql:add-to-init-file)

4. Install SLIME (Superior Lisp Interaction Mode for Emacs)

Method 1: Using Quicklisp (Recommended)

(ql:quickload "quicklisp-slime-helper")

Method 2: Using MELPA

1. Add MELPA to your Emacs configuration
2. M-x package-install RET slime RET

5. Configure Emacs

Add to your ~/.emacs or ~/.emacs.d/init.el:

;; SLIME configuration
(load (expand-file-name "~/quicklisp/slime-helper.el"))
(setq inferior-lisp-program "sbcl")

Usage

1. Start Emacs
2. Run M-x slime to start the SLIME REPL
3. Begin writing Common Lisp code!

Basic SLIME Commands

• M-x slime - Start SLIME
• C-c C-c - Compile current form
• C-c C-k - Compile and load current file
• C-c C-z - Switch to REPL