Based on a recent discussionhttps://groups.google.com/d/topic/lisp-stat/sYBndICy_HA/discussionon the Common Lisp Statistics group, I decided to start a github project numerical-lisp https://github.com/mirkov/numerical-lisp.
The purpose of the project is to serve as an ordered (as much as possible) collection of thoughts on what would make a useful and powerful system for numerical programming, analysis and visualization based on common-lisp. I suspect the discussion will be taking place on the common lisp statistics group, antik, and maybe others. I don't think that we should form yet another discussion forum. Coding would start in the next few months.
The project would depend a great deal on Antik, gsll, cl-num-utils, and other numerical libraries. The goal is not to start yet another incompatible numerical library. Instead, the goal is to provide a flexible framework into which one can plug in existing libraries with relatively little modification.
When it comes to coding, there will be relatively little intense numerical or graphics coding. Instead, we should use as many of already existing resources and libraries already available, and allow enough flexibility so as not to be locked to a particular library. We should also look at other systems (R, numpy, Matlab, mathematica, Macsyma), and incorporate their best features, albeit in a lispy way. The project may boil down to software engineering, and good language design (maybe we should study Fortress for hints)
Right now the project is quite empty, and I will add to it over the coming weeks. Once I figure out how github operates for collaborative work, I would welcome contributions from others as well.
I hope this to be a community effort.
Mirko