v 0.96 -- January 2011
based on abcl v 0.23.0

• The LISP language was designed to work upon lists of data (LISt Processing), with a rich set of built-in functions potentially useful for Max/MSP programmers. Arbitary data structures, functions, and return-types are easy to construct using [mxj maxlispj].
  
  For example, the following function will return a random element from a list:

  (defun getel(l)
     (nth (random (length l)) l)
  )
  

  This function can be used to build a function returning a list of three random elements from three different lists:

  (defun get3el(l1 l2 l3)
  	(cons (getel l1)
  		(cons (getel l2)
  			(list (getel l3))))
  )
  

  And the delightfully insane thing about LISP is that lists can be lists of numbers, lists of strings, lists of functions, lists of lists, etc.
  
  
• Because LISP is an interpreted language, functions can be defined and sent into LISP "on the fly" to operate upon Max/MSP data. The abcl interpreter (driven from Max/MSP) is fast enough for many extensive LISP operations.
  
  There are a number of good tutorials on Common Lisp available.
  
  
• A fairly common complaint among Max/MSP developers is the lack of a robust set of string-manipulation and data-structuring utilities. Obviously, LISP has powerful string-processing capabilities, and data representation can become as arbitrarily complex as necessary.
  
  
• The [mxj maxlispj] object will catch most LISP errors and continue functioning.
  
  
• Full source for both the [mxj maxlispj] object and the abcl interpreter are available for downloading (see below).

Download and Install

  Max5/Macintosh Directions (use the

• maxlispj_0.96_osx_max5.zip   (7.5 Mbytes download/9 Mbytes on disk)
  v 0.96 -- 1/31/2011
  
  
  This will unpack to a single "maxlispj_0.96_osx_max5/" folder. Inside this folder will be a 'jar' archive file, "BGabcl.jar" and a "maxlispj-help-0.96/" sub-folder. Move or copy the "BGabcl.jar" file to the Max5 java/classes folder, usually here:

     /Applications/Max5/Cycling '74/java/classes/
  

  Then edit the "max.java.config.txt" file in the 'Cycling '74/java/' folder and add the following line:

     max.dynamic.class.dir "/Applications/Max5/Cycling '74/java/classes/BGabcl.jar"
  

  Next, move or copy the entire "maxlispj-help-0.96/" folder onto the max-help search path, suggestion:

     /Applications/Max5/Cycling '74/max-help/
  

  
  NOTE: Be sure to remove any existing "maxlispj/" folders, "maxlispj-help/" folders, or older "maxlisp" objects from the search path.
  Move the entire "maxlispj-help-0.96/" folder intact -- do not take the maxlispj.maxhelp object out of the folder!

Source Code

• maxlispj_0.96_src.zip   (25 Kbytes download)
  v 0.96 -- 1/31/2011
  
  
  The java source code for the maxlispj.java class that provides the link between abcl and Max/MSP. Download the abcl source from the abcl web site.

Potential "Pitfalls"  (we wouldn't want to call them "bugs", would we?)

• Although [mxj maxlispj] will catch and handle most LISP errors, it cannot provide the debugging features that traditionally come with a LISP interpeter (i.e. no interactive debugger, break conditions, etc.). It is probably best to develop code in a standalone Common Lisp interpreter and then import the code (the "loadbuf" message to [mxj maxlispj] is useful) into Max/MSP.
  
  For debugging and development, it is probably best to use the abcl distribution.
  
  
• [mxj maxlispj] needs to do a lot of initialization when starting the LISP interpreter. The first [mxj maxlispj] object instantiated in a patcher may take several seconds (sometimes 10-20 seconds, sometimes even longer) to load. Be patient, even if (OSX users) the 'spinning rainbow wheel of death' appears. All subsequent [mxj maxlispj] objects will appear quickly as the initialization only has to occur once.
  
  For some reason under OSX 10.6/Max5, the first time the object's internal buffer is opened, it will also incur a short delay. Be patient, a lot is going on with this object!
  
  NOTE: One very odd situation can sometimes occur -- if a patcher has been saved to disk in a session prior to creating a [mxj maxlispj] object, the first object instantiated in the saved patcher will take a fair amount of time (30 seconds to a minute, depending on processor speed) as it allocates memory. A number of errors will also appear in the Max window about not finding certain classes, but the [mxj maxlsipj] will eventually be created and will function normally. I'm not sure why this happens.
  
  
• It is possible -- and in fact quite easy -- to write LISP programs that take a significant amount of time to execute. If the LISP interpreter takes too much time, Max/MSP will not be happy. This is real time, right?
  
  
• I'm not sure how well [mxj maxlispj] will handle a REALLY LARGE program. "riff-o-matic" is somewhat substantial, but I'm not a truly sophisticated LISP hacker.

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