newbie at lisp - please help

Hello,

I am just beginning to learn LISP and I'm looking for a LISP compiler/interpreter that I can download and install (an environment in which I can practice programming in LISP). Can anyone point me in the right direction? I have Windows XP.

Take a look at this thread.

This is a very basic one that you can use to learn: http://www.clisp.org/

If you want an IDE to use with it, try this: http://www.daansystems.com/lispide/

I recommend ClozureCL. There are many good and free lisps but most of them are for Unix. For Windows there are only two: Clozure and Steelbank. Since Steelbank for Windows is still in beta state there is only Clozure left. CLisp isn't a very good choice imo. Its terribly slow and it seems to have a lot of issues.

LispIDE is very basic but easy to use. Its a good start for a beginner. And it works with Clozure.

Clozure - http://www.clozure.com/clozurecl.html
Steelbank - http://www.sbcl.org/
LispIDE - http://www.daansystems.com/lispide/

What exactly is wrong with Clisp though?

My only real issue with clisp is the lack of a strong compiler. That said, clisp gains a few strengths by interpreting so much. It is much more flexible to code changes.

Thanks everyone for your feedback. Sorry it took so long to reply.