LISP 2

This article is about a specific Lisp dialect. For the use of a separate namespace for functions, see Lisp-1 vs. Lisp-2.

LISP 2 is a programming language proposed in the 1960s as the successor to Lisp. It had largely Lisp-like semantics and ALGOL 60-like syntax. It is remembered mostly for its syntax, yet it had many features beyond those of early Lisps.

LISP 2

Paradigms	Multi-paradigm: functional, procedural, reflective, meta
Family	Lisp
Designed by	R. W. Mitchell, Paul W. Abrahams
Developers	System Development Corporation, Information International, Inc.
First appeared	1960; 65 years ago (1960)
Final release	Final / 1967; 58 years ago (1967)
Typing discipline	dynamic, strong
Scope	Lexical (static)
Platform	IBM AN/FSQ-32, IBM 360/67, DEC PDP-6
Influenced by
Lisp, ALGOL

Early Lisps had many limits, including limited data types and slow numerics. Its use of fully parenthesized notation was also considered a problem. The inventor of Lisp, John McCarthy, expected these issues to be addressed in a later version, called notionally Lisp 2. Hence the name Lisp 1.5 for the successor to the earliest Lisp.^[1]

Lisp 2 was a joint project of the System Development Corporation and Information International, Inc., and was intended for the IBM built AN/FSQ-32 military computer. Development later shifted to the IBM 360/67 and the Digital Equipment Corporation PDP-6. The project was eventually abandoned.

Bibliography

• Abrahams, Paul W.; Barnett, Jeffrey A.; Book, Erwin; Firth, Donna; Kameny, Stanley L.; Weissman, Clark; Hawkinson, Lowell; Levin, Michael I.; Saunders, Robert A. (1966). "The LISP 2 Programming Language and System" (PDF). Proceedings of the Fall Joint Computer Conference. pp. 661–676.
• Abrahams, Paul W. (1967). LISP 2 Specifications (PDF) (Technical report). Santa Monica, Calif.: System Development Corporation. Technical report TM-3417/200/00.
• McCarthy, John (12 February 1979). "History of Lisp".
• Mitchell, R.W. (1964). LISP 2 Specifications Proposal (PDF) (Technical report). Stanford, Calif.: Stanford Artificial Intelligence Laboratory. Memo No. 21.