Why isn't there a good scheme/lisp on llvm?

lisp scheme llvm
anon picture anon · Jan 27, 2010 · Viewed 23.1k times · Source

There is Gambit Scheme, MIT Scheme, PLT Scheme, Chicken Scheme, Bigloo, Larceny, ...; then there are all the lisps.

Yet, there's not (to my knowledge) a single popular scheme/lisp on LLVM, even though LLVM provides lots of nice things like:

  • easier to generate code than x86
  • easy to make C FFI calls ...

So why is it that there isn't a good scheme/lisp on LLVM?

Answer

Pascal Cuoq picture Pascal Cuoq · Jan 27, 2010

LLVM provides a lot, but it's still only a small part of the runtime a functional language needs. And C FFI calls are uncomplicated because LLVM leaves memory management to be handled by someone else. Interacting the Garbage Collector is what makes FFI calls difficult in languages such as Scheme.

You might be interested in HLVM, but it's still more than experimental at this point.

Related questions

How is Racket different from Scheme?

Racket is a descendant of Scheme. How is Racket different than R6RS? What did it add, or take away, or is just different? I understand that Racket is more than a language, it's a platform for languages. But I'm …

Read More
What's the best way to learn LISP?

I have been programming in Python, PHP, Java and C for a couple or years now, and I just finished reading Hackers and Painters, so I would love to give LISP a try! I understand its totally diferent from what …

Read More
Clojure vs other Lisps

The intent of my question is not to start a flame war, but rather to determine in what circumstances each language is "the best tool for the job." I have read several books on Clojure (Programming Clojure, Practical Clojure, The …

Read More