Coursera Flash Sale
40% Off Coursera Plus for 3 Months!
Grab it
Explore the fascinating concept of self-modifying programming languages in this 22-minute conference talk from Lambda Days 2025. Learn how to create a Lisp interpreter that can dynamically rewrite its own implementation by leveraging Lisp's fundamental principle that code is data. Begin with the basics of Lisp interpretation using Clojure, discovering how surprisingly simple a minimal Lisp interpreter can be, then examine how small modifications to this interpreter can profoundly transform the language itself. Discover Autology, a pure functional Lisp with the unique ability to modify its own interpreter, enabling powerful forms of dynamic metaprogramming that range from customizing argument evaluation and building debuggers to executing raw inlined C code. Gain insights into meta-circular evaluation, where the interpreter written in Lisp becomes modifiable data, opening up deep possibilities for language evolution and runtime adaptation.
