- #1
KingNothing
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http://techcrunch.com/2011/10/24/creator-of-lisp-john-mccarthy-dead-at-84/
Rest in parentheses, my friend.
Rest in parentheses, my friend.
John McCarthy, creator of Lisp, dead at 84.
- Thread starter KingNothing
- Start date
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SUMMARY
John McCarthy, the creator of the Lisp programming language, passed away at the age of 84. His contributions to computer science, particularly through Lisp, have left a lasting impact on programming language design. The discussion reflects on personal experiences with Lisp, highlighting its utility in interfacing with hardware, such as an RS-232 controlled plotter, through AutoCAD's built-in Lisp interpreter. This anecdote underscores the versatility of Lisp in practical applications, even in challenging environments.
PREREQUISITES- Understanding of programming languages, particularly Lisp
- Familiarity with RS-232 communication protocols
- Knowledge of AutoCAD and its Lisp interpreter
- Basic experience with hardware interfacing and data visualization
- Explore advanced features of Lisp for automation in AutoCAD
- Research RS-232 communication and troubleshooting techniques
- Learn about the history and evolution of programming languages
- Investigate modern applications of Lisp in artificial intelligence
Software developers, computer science students, hardware engineers, and anyone interested in the historical significance of programming languages and their practical applications.
- #2
- 22,170
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RIP! 
The creator of the most beautiful language on Earth is gone
The creator of the most beautiful language on Earth is gone
- #3
Borek
Mentor
- 29,170
- 4,598
Is this a season for programming language creators, or what?
I never used Lisp for programming work, but it reminds me something.
Many years ago (around 1988 or 89), when I was working at Warsaw University, we bought an automatic polarographic system. Part of the system was an RS-232 controlled plotter. I was tasked with attaching the plotter to PC, so that we could use it for drawing calculated theoretical voltammetric curves. There was no drivers, and in general at these early times using RS-232 was a PITA, as drivers buily into DOS were a joke - they didn't work with anything. We had full specifications both of RS-232 of the plotter (to make things more difficult RS-232 devices were often incompatible) and the controlling commands, but I wasn't able to make it work. However, I discovered that it works correctly with pirated version of AutoCAD we had in office. And AutoCAD had built in interpreter of Lisp and some examples of how to use this Lisp interpreter to prepare drawings. So I wrote a small program that was taking our data and converting it into series of Lisp commands. These were imported into AutoCAD, drawn there, and finally transferred on paper.
I never used Lisp for programming work, but it reminds me something.
Many years ago (around 1988 or 89), when I was working at Warsaw University, we bought an automatic polarographic system. Part of the system was an RS-232 controlled plotter. I was tasked with attaching the plotter to PC, so that we could use it for drawing calculated theoretical voltammetric curves. There was no drivers, and in general at these early times using RS-232 was a PITA, as drivers buily into DOS were a joke - they didn't work with anything. We had full specifications both of RS-232 of the plotter (to make things more difficult RS-232 devices were often incompatible) and the controlling commands, but I wasn't able to make it work. However, I discovered that it works correctly with pirated version of AutoCAD we had in office. And AutoCAD had built in interpreter of Lisp and some examples of how to use this Lisp interpreter to prepare drawings. So I wrote a small program that was taking our data and converting it into series of Lisp commands. These were imported into AutoCAD, drawn there, and finally transferred on paper.
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