# CLISP manual page

- Name
- Synopsis
- Description
- Options
- Reference
- Use
- Files
- Environment
- See also
- Bugs
- Projects
- Authors

## Name

`clisp` - Common Lisp language interpreter and compiler

## Synopsis

`clisp` [ `-h` | `--help` ] [ `--version` ] [ `--license` ] [ `-B` lisplibdir ] [ `-K` linking-set ] [ `-M` memfile ] [ `-m` memsize ] [ `-L` language ] [ `-N` localedir ] [ `-E` domain encoding ] [ `-q` | `--quiet` | `--silent` ] [ `-w` ] [ `-I` ] [ `-a` ] [ `-p` packagename ] [ `-C` ] [ `-norc` ] [ `-i` initfile ... ] [ `-c` [ `-l` ] lispfile [ `-o` outputfile ] ... ] [ `-x` expression ] [ lispfile [ argument ... ] ]

## Description

Invokes the common lisp interpreter and compiler. Invoked without arguments, executes a read-eval-print loop, in which expressions are in turn read from standard input, evaluated by the lisp interpreter, and their results output to standard output. Invoked with `-c`, the specified lisp files are compiled to a bytecode that can be executed more efficiently.

## Options

`-h`, `--help`
  Displays a help message on how to use `clisp`.

`--version`
  Displays the `clisp` version number, as given by the function call `(lisp-implementation-version)`.

`--license`
  Displays a summary of the licensing information, the GNU GPL.

`-B` lisplibdir
  Specifies the installation directory. This is the directory containing the linking sets and other data files. This option is normally not necessary, because the installation directory is already built-in in the `clisp` executable.

`-K` linking-set
  Specifies the linking set to be run. This is a directory containing at least a main executable and an initial memory image. Possible values are `base`, `full`. The default is `base`.

`-M` memfile
  Specifies the initial memory image. This must be a memory dump produced by the `saveinitmem` function. It may have been compressed using GNU gzip.

`-m` memsize
  Sets the amount of memory `clisp` tries to grab on startup. The amount may be given as nnnnnnn (measured in bytes), nnnn `K` or nnnn `KB` (measured in kilobytes) or n `M` or n `MB` (measured in megabytes). Default is 2 megabytes. The argument is constrained above 100 KB. -- This version of `clisp` is not likely to actually use the entire memsize since garbage collection will periodically reduce the amount of used memory. It is therefore common to specify 10 MB even if only 2 MB are going to be used.

`-L` language
  Specifies the language `clisp` uses to communicate with the user. This may be `english`, `deutsch`, `francais`, `espanol`. Other languages may be specified through the environment variable `LANG`, provided the corresponding message catalog is installed.

`-N` localedir
  Specifies the base directory of locale files. `clisp` will search its message catalogs in localedir`/`language`/LC_MESSAGES/clisp.mo`.

`-E` domain encoding
  Specifies the encoding used for a given domain, overriding the default which depends on the environment variables `LC_ALL`, `LC_CTYPE`, `LANG`. domain can be `file`, affecting `*default-file-encoding*`, or `pathname`, affecting `*pathname-encoding*`, or `terminal`, affecting `*terminal-encoding*`, or `foreign`, affecting `*foreign-encoding*`, or `misc`, affecting `*misc-encoding*`.

`-q`, `--quiet`, `--silent`
  Quiet: `clisp` displays no banner at startup and no good-bye message when quitting.

`-w`
  Wait for keypress after program termination.

`-I`
  Be ILISP friendly. ILISP is an alternative Emacs interface to Common Lisp systems. With this option, `clisp` interacts in a way that ILISP can deal with. Currently the only effect of this is that unnecessary prompts are not suppressed. Furthermore, the GNU readline library treats Tab as a normal self-inserting character.

`-a`
  ANSI CL compliant: Comply with the ANSI CL specification even on those issues where ANSI CL is broken. This option is provided for maximum portability of Lisp programs, and is not useful for actual everyday work. It sets the variable `*package*` to `COMMON-LISP-USER` and the symbol macro `*ansi*` to `t`. See impnotes.html, section "Maximum ANSI CL compliance", for details.

`-p` packagename
  At startup the value of the variable `*package*` will be set to the package named packagename. The default is the package which was active when the image was saved, normally `USER`, or `COMMON-LISP-USER` if the option `-a` was specified.

`-C`
  Compile when load: At startup the value of the variable `*load-compiling*` will be set to `t`. Code being `load`ed will then be compiled on the fly. This results in slower loading, but faster execution.

`-norc`
  Normally `clisp` loads a user run control (RC) file on startup (this happens after the `-C` option is processed). The file loaded is `${HOME}/.clisprc.lsp` or `${HOME}/.clisprc.fas`, whichever is newest. This option, `-norc`, prevents loading of the RC file.

`-i` initfile ...
  Specifies initialization files to be `load`ed at startup. These should be lisp files (source or compiled). Several `-i` options can be given; all the specified files will be loaded in order.

`-c` lispfile ...
  Compiles the specified lispfiles to bytecode (*.fas). The compiled files can then be `load`ed instead of the sources to gain efficiency.

`-o` outputfile
  Specifies the output file or directory for the compilation of the last specified lispfile.

`-l`
  A bytecode listing (*.lis) of the files being compiled will be produced. Useful only for debugging purposes. See the documentation of `compile-file` for details.

`-x` expressions
  Executes a series of arbitrary expressions instead of a read-eval-print loop. The values of the expressions will be output to standard output. Due to the argument processing done by the shell, the expressions must be enclosed in double quotes, and double quotes and backslashes must be preceded by backslashes.

lispfile [ argument ... ]
  Loads and executes a lispfile. There will be no read-eval-print loop. Before lispfile is loaded, the variable `*args*` will be bound to a list of strings, representing the arguments. The first line of lispfile may start with `#!`, thus permitting `clisp` to be used as a script interpreter. If lispfile is `-`, the standard input is used instead of a file. This option must be the last one. No RC file will be executed.

## Reference

The language implemented mostly conforms to

> ANSI Common Lisp standard X3.226-1994 http://www.x3.org/tc_home/j13sd4.htm

available online as the

> Common Lisp HyperSpec http://www.harlequin.com/education/books/HyperSpec/ ("CLHS" for short)

which supersedes the earlier specifications

> Guy L. Steele Jr.: Common Lisp - The Language. Digital Press. 2nd edition 1990, 1032 pages. http://www.cs.cmu.edu/afs/cs.cmu.edu/project/ai-repository/ai/html/cltl/cltl2.html ("CLtL2" for short)

and

> Guy L. Steele Jr.: Common Lisp - The Language. Digital Press. 1st edition 1984, 465 pages. ("CLtL1" for short)

## Use

`help`
  to get some on-line help.

`(apropos` name`)`
  lists the symbols relating to name.

`(exit)` or `(quit)` or `(bye)`
  to quit `clisp`.

EOF (Ctrl-D)
  to leave the current read-eval-print loop.

arrow keys
  for editing and viewing the input history.

Tab key
  to complete the symbol's name you are just typing.

## Files

`clisp`
  startup script

`lisp.run`
  main executable

`lispinit.mem`
  initial memory image

`config.lsp`
  site-dependent configuration

`*.lsp`
  lisp source

`*.fas`
  lisp code, compiled by `clisp`

`*.lib`
  lisp source library information, generated and used by the `clisp` compiler

`*.c`
  C code, compiled from lisp source by `clisp`

## Environment

`CLISP_LANGUAGE`
  specifies the language `clisp` uses to communicate with the user. The value may be `english`, `deutsch`, `francais` and defaults to `english`. The `-L` option can be used to override this environment variable.

`LC_CTYPE`
  specifies the locale which determines the character set in use. The value can be of the form `language` or `language_country` or `language_country.charset`, where language is a two-letter ISO 639 language code (lower case), country is a two-letter ISO 3166 country code (upper case). charset is an optional character set specification, and needs normally not be given because the character set can be inferred from the language and country.

`LANG`
  specifies the language `clisp` uses to communicate with the user, unless it is already specified through the environment variable `CLISP_LANGUAGE` or the `-L` option. It also specifies the locale determining the character set in use, unless already specified through the environment variable `LC_CTYPE`. The value may begin with a two-letter ISO 639 language code, for example `en`, `de`, `fr`.

`HOME` and `USER`
  are used for determining the value of the function `user-homedir-pathname`. (Unix implementation only.)

`SHELL` (Unix implementation only)
  is used to find the interactive command interpreter called by `(shell)`.

`TERM`
  determines the screen size recognized by the pretty printer. This environment variable is also mandatory for the built-in screen editor.

  ## See also

  impnotes.html, `cmucl`(1), `xemacs`(1).

  ## Bugs

  - The function `inspect` is not implemented.
  - Not all extensions from CLtL2 are supported.
  - No on-line documentation beyond `apropos` and `describe` is available.

  ## Projects

  - Writing on-line documentation.
  - Write `inspect`.
  - Enhance the compiler such that it can inline local functions.
  - Specify a portable set of window and graphics operations.

  ## Authors

  Bruno Haible `<haible@clisp.cons.org>` and Michael Stoll.

  Last modified: 18 July 1999.