Common Lisp was written in the 80s as a kind of an amalgam of the existing Lisps at the time. To make sure the Common Lisp would stay relevant, it was made backward compatible so that existing legacy systems could run on it. One thing in common to these big old systems like Lisp is a lot more mutation, and the cool thing about this legacy is that it has a baked experience – it learns and it has learned.

Today we talk to Eric Normand, an experienced functional programmer, trainer, speaker, and consultant on all things functional programming. He started writing Lisp in 2000 and is now a Clojure expert, producing the most comprehensive suite of Clojure training material at purelyfunctional.tv. He also consults with companies to use functional programming to better serve business objectives. 

We talk about problems in legacy code basis utilizing functional programming, the abstract nature of programs, the wisdom of Lisp, and more. 

When you’re done listening to the episode, make sure to check out Eric’s Clojure training and his podcast, as well as connect with him on LinkedIn.

Mentioned in this episode:

Eric Normand on LinkedIn: linkedin.com/in/eric-normand-61a70366/

Eric Normand’s podcast: Lispcast.com

Eric Normand’s websites: https://lispcast.com and https://purelyfunctional.tv 

Eric Normand’s Clojure training: Purelyfunctional.tv

Eric Normand’s book Grokking Simplicity: https://www.manning.com/books/grokking-simplicity?utm_source=lispcast&utm_medium=affiliate&utm_campaign=book_normand_grokking_8_20_19&a_aid=lispcast&a_bid=72596968Use discount code TSSIMPLICITY for 50% off.