Lispdriven

Lispdriven refers to a programming approach or philosophy that prioritizes Lisp as the central driver of software design, architecture, and tooling. It emphasizes meta-programming, homoiconicity (code as data), and the macro system to implement domain-specific languages, automate generation, and adapt run-time behavior. The term is used in community discussions rather than as a formal standard.

The term arose within Lisp communities in the late 20th to early 21st century, as developers explored macro-based design and interactive development. It describes projects where core control logic, configuration, and even domain logic are expressed in Lisp, allowing rapid experimentation through the REPL and live coding.

Common characteristics include heavy use of macros and macro-based DSLs, code-as-data manipulation, dynamic evaluation, and a preference for incremental, REPL-driven development. Lispdriven systems often feature embedded languages for configuration, testing, or data transformation, authored in Lisp or Lisp-like syntax. They tend to emphasize extensibility and adaptability over static typing.

Lispdriven approaches have been used in areas such as AI research, language tooling, build systems, and data processing where programmable flexibility is advantageous. Notable Lisp dialects used in Lispdriven work include Common Lisp, Scheme, and Clojure, which provide robust macro facilities and interactive environments.

The approach is niche and can lead to highly expressive, compact solutions, but can also incur complexity, steeper learning curves, and maintenance challenges when macro-heavy code becomes opaque. Advocates stress the benefits of rapid iteration and domain-specific abstractions, while critics point to portability and readability concerns.