Ask HN: How long does it take to learn Common Lisp

I can't answer that question. I wrote a Common Lisp book for Springer Verlag in the late 1980s and I don't consider myself to be an expert after years of using CL for work. I am not being modest, it is just that I have worked with Lisper's who were much better than I was.

I do enjoy learning and using new programming languages but I learn them a bit at a time by using them in projects.

So I would advise you to not force it, choose small projects and start coding. After a few small projects, if you are not having fun, then just choose another language.

If you love to program, then learning new languages helps you program in other languages that you already know. As long as you enjoy yourself it is time well spent.

How long is a piece of string?

Lisp doesn't take any more time to get productive in it, than any other modern language. It takes a bit longer to really get it though. There are a lot of things in Common Lisp that take some time to sink in, because you rarely see them in other languages, like macros, generic functions, conditions, etc. But you don't need to know these things to start using lisp right away.

This is a hard (if not impossible) question to answer. It will vary hugely based on a lot of different factors:

How many languages do you already know?

How long have you been programming?

Have you done any functional programming before?

Are you familiar with lambda calculus?

and the list goes on.

try these: http://www.gigamonkeys.com/book/ http://landoflisp.com/