Thank you, you are too kind.
My thinking was that there was a large investment in numpy that cannot be exploited by lispers.
It has been objected that it would be better to have a library that is more lispy. I have made my argument for why that would be difficult to do. I should also add that numpy isn't particularly "pythony," either: the linear algebra computations are done by external libraries with highly efficient low-level implementations. Furthermore, a lot of python is lisp-inspired, so I think it not unreasonable that a python-suited numpy could also be quite lisp-suitable.
Of course, if people want to do a capable linear algebra library for and in CL, I have no objections! Either as a community big project or hobbyist hack. Let a thousand flowers bloom!
My interest, though, is in *using* such a library, not building it (numerical analysis is not my thing), so I was looking for the most direct path to the most solid capability.
On 11 Apr 2023, at 20:18, Elliott Johnson wrote:
Robert,I must say that I am a big fan of your work on asdf and in awe of your professional and academic career.I agree with your assessment that numpy and the entirety of NUMFocus would be well outside the scope of the current CL community.In an effort to conserve the momentum of this thread and channel the spirit of my time at Franz Inc, I'd like to emphasize that a lot can be accomplished by a small team with clear goals and roles.I hope that if a such project arises that I can be of assistance.Best regards,ElliottSent from my T-Mobile 5G Device -------- Original message --------From: Robert Goldman rpgoldman@sift.net Date: 4/11/23 1:07 PM (GMT-08:00) To: Discussion list for Common Lisp professionals pro@common-lisp.net Subject: Re: Numpy and Common Lisp? I don't mean to rain on the parade, but the development and maintenance of numpy consumes a level of resources that is simply beyond the capacity of the CL community to muster. The NUMFocus project, a non-profit, supports this and other numerical computation projects (most, but not exclusively python), drawing on substantial amounts of corporate sponsorship. I urge you to cast your eyes on this NumFOCUS sponsors list before thinking that our community could even begin to tackle this task: https://numfocus.org/sponsors On 11 Apr 2023, at 7:14, Steven Nunez wrote:
There's also the Lisp-Stat ecosystem, if you don't already know about it. Data-frame, array-operations and LLA (Lisp Linear Algebra) cover much of numpy's functionality; at least enough to get significant work done.
On Tuesday, April 11, 2023 at 07:45:50 PM GMT+8, Elliott Johnson elliott@elliottjohnson.net wrote:
FYI - there appears to be a library called numcl that was written to cover numpy's functionality.
https://github.com/numcl/numcl
I've yet to try it, but thought I'd pass along the link.
Regards, Elliott Johnson
-------- Original message -------- From: Raymond Wiker rwiker@gmail.com Date: 4/11/23 3:53 AM (GMT-08:00) To: Discussion list for Common Lisp professionals pro@common-lisp.net Subject: Re: Numpy and Common Lisp?
There’s cl-ana, which may be a useful substitute in some cases… or april, possibly.
cliki.net
cl-ana
cliki.net
april
If you specifically want numpy, it may be possible to have Common Lisp talking to python.
On 11 Apr 2023, at 08:41, Marco Antoniotti marco.antoniotti@unimib.it wrote:
Hi Michael
I am all for it. But, as I said, I am an academic (and a cat).
Should we (as in "a bunch of common lispers", most of whom with day jobs) want to do something like that, how would you want to proceed? Note that I have been part of many past failures.
All the best
Marco
On Tue, Apr 11, 2023 at 1:01 AM Michael Bentley michael@stray-labs.com wrote:
IMHO, it'd be easier and effective to band up together and FIRST write a proper API specification and THEN implement it in CL.
I agree. Here’s the API specification for NumPy: https://numpy.org/doc/stable/reference/index.html#reference
Looks rather intimidating. Less intimidating though, than doing the FFI dance, though.