November Quicklisp dist update

I've pushed out a new version of the standard "quicklisp" dist. To get it, use (ql:update-all-dists). That command will show a summary of the changes and then perform the update. If you encounter any problems when updating, please email me or report it on the Quicklisp discussion group.

There are a few updates and changes I'd like to highlight.

The Weblocks version in the October Quicklisp dist had a performance issue that meant page display was very slow. I believe that issue has been fixed in the version in this update. If you try Weblocks with Quicklisp, please keep an eye out for any lingering performance problems.

Nikodemus recently updated alexandria to lock its package when using SBCL. That means certain kinds of definitions on alexandria symbols from outside the alexandria package signal an error. That triggered a cascade of updates in projects that depend on alexandria; a typical problem was unwitting redefinition of certain alexandria symbols like appendf and make-keyword.

cl-l10n is now included in Quicklisp. It no longer requires a shell script to fetch its Unicode data files. The data files are now part of a new CL project called cl-l10n-cldr. Thanks to Attila Lendvai for making this Quicklisp-friendly change.

There have been a few project removals as well. teepeedee2 does not work with the new Parenscript 2.2, and its author, John Fremlin, indicated he would not track Parenscript updates. Rather than include a project that doesn't build, I have left teepeedee2 out of the dist. Kenny Tilton's cells no longer compiles on SBCL because it relies on an Allegro-specific keyword for make-hash-table. He indicated he wouldn't make updates just to make it work on SBCL, so at the moment, it is not included in the dist. If you're happily using cells or teepeedee2 with Quicklisp, you can keep using them by not updating your dist. update Kenny just updated Cells and it builds again, so it'll be in the next dist update.

I missed a few project updates, including cl-proc and cl-clon. They will be included in the next dist update. If there are other projects you want to see included in Quicklisp, please create an issue for it on GitHub.

Finally, last week I put out a request for donations on twitter. The generosity of Quicklisp users has been remarkable, and I was able to purchase enough new computer bits and pieces to get a very fast Quicklisp build and test server. It's about twice as fast as doing builds on a Linux VM on my Macbook, and that improved performance helped me get this dist update up faster. A big thank you to everyone who has contributed! If haven't contributed but you'd like to, see the Donate button on www.quicklisp.org.

Updates coming within the week

I hope to get software update out within the week. Here's a preliminary report on the differences between the October dist and the November dist:

New projects:
    beirc-20101103-cvs
    chronicity-v0.2.6
    cl-bencode-20101103-git
    cl-crc64-20101103-git
    cl-l10n-cldr-20101103-darcs
    cl-l10n-20101103-darcs
    cl-sphinx-20101103-git
    cl-test-more-20101103-git
    cl-uglify-js-20101103-git
    cl-v4l2-20101103-git
    clfswm-20101103-svn
    css-lite-20101103-git
    gbbopen-20101103-svn
    hu.dwim.wui-20101103-darcs
    hunchentoot-auth-20101103-git
    hunchentoot-cgi-20101103-git
    hunchentoot-vhost-20101103-git
    loopless-20101103-git
    manardb-20101103-git
    nuclblog-20101103-git
    pileup-20101103-git
    restas-directory-publisher-20101103-git
    restas-20101103-git
    sb-cga-20101103-git
    xml-match-20101103-git

  Updated projects:
    alexandria-20101006-git -> alexandria-20101103-git
    aromyxo-20101006-git -> aromyxo-20101103-git
    babel-20101006-darcs -> babel-20101103-darcs
    blackthorn-engine-20101006-hg -> blackthorn-engine-20101103-hg
    chillax-20101006-git -> chillax-20101103-git
    cl-closure-template-20101006-git -> cl-closure-template-20101103-git
    cl-devil-20101006-git -> cl-devil-20101103-git
    cl-glfw-20101006-git -> cl-glfw-20101103-git
    cl-jpeg-20101006-http -> cl-jpeg-20101103-http
    cl-mongo-20101006-git -> cl-mongo-20101103-git
    cl-opengl-20101006-git -> cl-opengl-20101103-git
    cl-pdf-20101006-svn -> cl-pdf-20101103-svn
    cl-random-20101006-git -> cl-random-20101103-git
    cl-routes-20101006-git -> cl-routes-20101103-git
    cl-skip-list-20101006-git -> cl-skip-list-20101103-git
    cl-smtp-20101006-http -> cl-smtp-20101103-http
    cl-syslog-20101006-http -> cl-syslog-20101103-http
    cl-zmq-20101006-git -> cl-zmq-20101103-git
    clon-20101006-git -> clon-20101103-git
    closer-mop-20101006-darcs -> closer-mop-20101103-darcs
    closure-common-20101006-git -> closure-common-20101103-git
    clpython-20101006-git -> clpython-20101103-git
    cxml-stp-2008-11-30 -> cxml-stp-20101103-git
    cxml-20101006-git -> cxml-20101103-git
    dbus-20101006-git -> dbus-20101103-git
    eager-future-20101006-darcs -> eager-future-20101103-git
    f2cl-20101006-cvs -> f2cl-20101103-cvs
    fare-matcher-20101006-git -> fare-matcher-20101103-git
    fare-utils-20101006-git -> fare-utils-20101103-git
    folio-20101006-git -> folio-20101103-git
    glaw-20101006-git -> glaw-20101103-git
    glop-20101006-git -> glop-20101103-git
    gsll-20101006-git -> gsll-20101103-git
    hu.dwim.asdf-20101006-darcs -> hu.dwim.asdf-20101103-darcs
    hu.dwim.computed-class-20101006-darcs -> hu.dwim.computed-class-20101103-darcs
    hu.dwim.logger-20101006-darcs -> hu.dwim.logger-20101103-darcs
    hu.dwim.perec-20101006-darcs -> hu.dwim.perec-20101103-darcs
    hu.dwim.rdbms-20101006-darcs -> hu.dwim.rdbms-20101103-darcs
    hu.dwim.stefil-20101006-darcs -> hu.dwim.stefil-20101103-darcs
    hu.dwim.syntax-sugar-20101006-darcs -> hu.dwim.syntax-sugar-20101103-darcs
    hu.dwim.util-20101006-darcs -> hu.dwim.util-20101103-darcs
    hu.dwim.walker-20101006-darcs -> hu.dwim.walker-20101103-darcs
    iolib-0.7.1 -> iolib-0.7.3
    js-20101006-git -> js-20101103-git
    lift-20101006-git -> lift-20101103-git
    linedit-20101006-cvs -> linedit-20101103-git
    lispbuilder-20101006-svn -> lispbuilder-20101103-svn
    lla-20101006-git -> lla-20101103-git
    montezuma-20101006-svn -> montezuma-20101103-svn
    parenscript-2.1 -> parenscript-2.2
    parse-js-20101006-git -> parse-js-20101103-git
    plokami-1.4 -> plokami-20101103-git
    postmodern-20101006-git -> postmodern-20101103-git
    quicklisp-slime-helper-20101006-git -> quicklisp-slime-helper-20101103-git
    quickproject-20101006-git -> quickproject-20101103-git
    scribble-20101006-git -> scribble-20101103-git
    shuffletron-20101006-git -> shuffletron-20101103-git
    slime-20101006-cvs -> slime-20101103-cvs
    st-json-20101006-darcs -> st-json-20101103-git
    stefil-20101006-http -> stefil-20101103-darcs
    sw-mvc-20101006-git -> sw-mvc-20101103-git
    symbolicweb-20101006-git -> symbolicweb-20101103-git
    tpapp-utils-20101006-git -> tpapp-utils-20101103-git
    uffi-20101006-git -> uffi-20101103-git
    weblocks-20101006-hg -> weblocks-20101103-hg
    yason-20101006-svn -> yason-20101103-git
    zip-20101006-cvs -> zip-20101103-cvs

If there are projects you want to see added, please open a GitHub issue for them.

Quicklisp beta now available

The Quicklisp beta is now available. Please see the release notes for a few known issues. If you have any questions or comments, feel free to use the Quicklisp discussion group.

Quicklisp client and bootstrap code is also now available on the Quicklisp github page.

Quicklisp beta and survey

Next Saturday, October 9th, I'm going to release a public beta of Quicklisp for anyone who wants to try it. As of right now, the discussion group is open for any kind of Quicklisp discussion.

I also created a 10-question survey to find out more about people who might use Quicklisp. If you use CL, would you please take the time to fill it out?

Quicklisp projects: what's missing?

Here are the projects in Quicklisp right now:

• 3b-swf
  
• 3bil
  
• adw-charting
  
• alexandria
  
• anaphora
  
• archive
  
• arnesi
  
• aromyxo
  
• array-operations
  
• asdf-system-connections
  
• asn.1
  
• babel
  
• binary-types
  
• binge
  
• bknr-datastore
  
• black-tie
  
• blackthorn-engine
  
• bordeaux-fft
  
• bordeaux-threads
  
• buildapp
  
• calispel
  
• cells
  
• cffi
  
• ch-image
  
• ch-util
  
• chillax
  
• chipz
  
• chunga
  
• cl+ssl
  
• cl-base64
  
• cl-cairo2
  
• cl-cli-parser
  
• cl-closure-template
  
• cl-colors
  
• cl-cont
  
• cl-containers
  
• cl-ctrnn
  
• cl-data-format-validation
  
• cl-devil
  
• cl-difflib
  
• cl-docutils
  
• cl-dot
  
• cl-fad
  
• cl-fftw3
  
• cl-ftp
  
• cl-gd
  
• cl-geometry
  
• cl-graph
  
• cl-growl
  
• cl-gtk2
  
• cl-heap
  
• cl-heredoc
  
• cl-html-diff
  
• cl-i18n
  
• cl-interpol
  
• cl-irc
  
• cl-irregsexp
  
• cl-jpeg
  
• cl-jpl-util
  
• cl-json
  
• cl-lex
  
• cl-libxml2
  
• cl-m4
  
• cl-markdown
  
• cl-modlisp
  
• cl-mongo
  
• cl-ncurses
  
• cl-num-utils
  
• cl-oauth
  
• cl-openal
  
• cl-opengl
  
• cl-pdf
  
• cl-photo
  
• cl-png (new)
  
• cl-ppcre
  
• cl-prevalence
  
• cl-qprint
  
• cl-random
  
• cl-rcfiles
  
• cl-redis
  
• cl-routes
  
• cl-rss
  
• cl-s3
  
• cl-sasl
  
• cl-skip-list
  
• cl-smtp
  
• cl-soap
  
• cl-sqlite
  
• cl-store
  
• cl-typesetting
  
• cl-unicode
  
• cl-unification
  
• cl-utilities
  
• cl-vectors
  
• cl-webdav
  
• cl-who
  
• cl-xmpp
  
• cl-yacc
  
• cl-zmq
  
• clem
  
• cleric
  
• clon
  
• clonsigna
  
• closer-mop
  
• closure-common
  
• closure-html
  
• clot
  
• clouchdb
  
• clpython
  
• clsql
  
• cluck
  
• clws
  
• clx
  
• colorize
  
• command-line-arguments
  
• conduit-packages
  
• conium
  
• contextl
  
• cxml-rng
  
• cxml-rpc
  
• cxml-stp
  
• cxml
  
• date-calc
  
• declt
  
• defsystem-compatibility
  
• documentation-template
  
• drakma
  
• dynamic-classes
  
• eager-future
  
• eos
  
• esrap
  
• evol
  
• external-program
  
• f-underscore
  
• f2cl
  
• fare-csv
  
• fare-matcher
  
• fare-utils
  
• fcgi
  
• ffa
  
• fft
  
• fiveam
  
• flexi-streams
  
• flexichain
  
• folio
  
• fsbv
  
• fset
  
• garbage-pools
  
• genhash
  
• getopt
  
• glaw
  
• glop
  
• graphic-forms
  
• graylex
  
• gsd
  
• gsll
  
• gtfl
  
• gzip-stream
  
• hemlock
  
• ht-simple-ajax
  
• html-encode
  
• html-template
  
• hu.dwim.asdf
  
• hu.dwim.common-lisp
  
• hu.dwim.common
  
• hu.dwim.computed-class
  
• hu.dwim.def
  
• hu.dwim.defclass-star
  
• hu.dwim.delico
  
• hu.dwim.logger
  
• hu.dwim.partial-eval
  
• hu.dwim.perec
  
• hu.dwim.quasi-quote
  
• hu.dwim.rdbms
  
• hu.dwim.reiterate
  
• hu.dwim.serializer
  
• hu.dwim.stefil
  
• hu.dwim.syntax-sugar
  
• hu.dwim.util
  
• hu.dwim.walker
  
• hunchentoot
  
• hyperobject
  
• ie3fp
  
• ieee-floats
  
• imago
  
• incf-cl
  
• iolib
  
• irc-logger
  
• ironclad
  
• iterate
  
• jpl-queues
  
• js
  
• jsown
  
• jwacs
  
• kmrcl
  
• l-math
  
• levenshtein
  
• lift
  
• linedit
  
• lisp-magick
  
• lisp-on-lines
  
• lisp-unit
  
• lispbuilder
  
• lla
  
• lml
  
• lml2
  
• local-time
  
• log5
  
• ltk
  
• lw-compat
  
• magicffi
  
• mcclim
  
• md5
  
• mel-base
  
• meta
  
• metabang-bind
  
• metacopy
  
• meta-sexp (new)
  
• metatilities-base
  
• metatilities
  
• micmac
  
• mime4cl
  
• misc-extensions
  
• mixalot
  
• montezuma
  
• moptilities
  
• mt19937
  
• mw-equiv
  
• named-readtables
  
• net-telent-date
  
• net4cl
  
• npg
  
• nst
  
• oct
  
• odd-streams
  
• ods4cl
  
• okra
  
• osicat
  
• parenscript
  
• parse-declarations
  
• parse-js
  
• parse-number
  
• patron
  
• pcall
  
• pg
  
• pipes
  
• pithy-xml
  
• plexippus-xpath
  
• plokami
  
• png-read
  
• portable-threads
  
• portableaserve
  
• postmodern
  
• postoffice
  
• prepl
  
• protobuf
  
• psgraph
  
• ptester
  
• pubmed
  
• puri
  
• py-configparser
  
• py-configvalidator (new)
  
• quicklisp-slime-helper
  
• quickproject
  
• rcl
  
• regex
  
• relational-objects-for-lisp
  
• retrospectiff
  
• reversi
  
• rfc2109
  
• rfc2388-binary
  
• rfc2388
  
• rfc3339-timestamp
  
• rlc
  
• rpc4cl
  
• rt
  
• rucksack
  
• rutils
  
• s-base64
  
• s-http-client
  
• s-sysdeps
  
• s-utils
  
• s-xml-rpc
  
• s-xml
  
• salza2
  
• sclf
  
• scribble
  
• series
  
• sheeple
  
• simple-date-time
  
• simple-finalizer
  
• simpsamp
  
• skippy
  
• slime
  
• smtp4cl
  
• snmp
  
• soundex
  
• spatial-trees
  
• split-sequence
  
• st-json
  
• static-vectors
  
• stefil
  
• string-case
  
• sw-db
  
• sw-http
  
• sw-mvc
  
• sw-stm
  
• symbolicweb
  
• tbnl
  
• teepeedee2
  
• tilde
  
• tinaa
  
• tpapp-utils
  
• trees
  
• trivial-backtrace
  
• trivial-features
  
• trivial-garbage
  
• trivial-gray-streams
  
• trivial-http
  
• trivial-ldap
  
• trivial-shell
  
• trivial-timeout
  
• trivial-utf-8
  
• ucw
  
• uffi
  
• umlisp-orf
  
• umlisp
  
• unit-test
  
• unix-options
  
• until-it-dies
  
• url-rewrite
  
• usocket-udp
  
• usocket
  
• utils-kt
  
• uuid
  
• vcs-tree
  
• vecto
  
• verrazano
  
• weblocks
  
• wiki-parser
  
• xarray
  
• xlunit
  
• xmls
  
• xptest
  
• xuriella
  
• yaclml
  
• yason
  
• zcdb
  
• zlib
  
• zpb-exif
  
• zpb-ttf
  
• zpng
  
• zs3
  

Every day I hear about new, useful, mature projects that I have never seen or heard of before. Help me speed up the process: what am I missing from my list?

Kind words from Jorge Tavares

Jorge Tavares wrote about his experience trying Quicklisp, and he is very enthusiastic about it.

One passage that struck me:

No more worries about how to install a library and dependencies. After a while, you even start installing things just for the fun of it!

I used to try to install libraries by hand only to find they had a number of dependencies, and those dependencies had dependencies, and they were sometimes unavailable, hard to find, time-consuming to install, etc. But now, when wearing my Quicklisp Library Hunter hat, I'm delighted to find things that have dependencies that aren't in Quicklisp already. That means I have an opportunity to grow Quicklisp with a set of new, hopefully-useful libraries. The more dependencies, the better! It's taken a source of pain and turned it into a source of excitement, and that's helped avoid burnout working on Quicklisp.

Hans Hübner on Quicklisp

Hans Hübner wrote a nice article about Quicklisp on his blog today:

...I thought I'd give Quicklisp a spin. After all, parsing some XML and sending HTTP requests are no big deal in Common Lisp either, and an OAuth library is available, too. With Quicklisp, all it should take was write some glue code to connect DRAKMA, CXML, cl-ppcre and cl-oauth. Installing the bunch should be a matter of loading quicklisp.lisp, then typing (ql:quickload `("drakma" "cxml" "cl-ppcre" "cl-oauth")) and watching the show scroll by.

And hey, it worked right away. I even embedded a web server in the gateway application so that it can be monitored by the system status monitors provided by my hosting provider. All in all, rewriting the thing in Common Lisp and deploying it took no longer than two hours, and the source is not significantly longer than the Clojure version either. Furthermore, the new gateway properly deals with non-ASCII characters. Embarrassingly, the Clojure gateway was buggy in that respect and never properly twittered the titles of my own blog posts. Thanks, Zach!

I hope other people find it just as easy.