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‎content/_index.md‎

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## Web Apps in Lisp: Know-how
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You want to write a web application in Common Lisp and you don't know
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where to start? Or you don't want to re-invent the wheel? Follow the guide.
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## Why Common Lisp
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For web development as for any other task, one can leverage Common
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Lisp's advantages:
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- the **unmatched REPL** that even helps to interact with a running web app on your remote server,
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- the **exception handling system**,
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- **performance**,
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- easy deployment: ability to build **self-contained executables** containing all our static files,
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- **stability**,
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- **good threads story**,
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- **strong** and incremental **typing**,
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- etc.
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All the development experience is very much interactive, allowing us
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to write and test features right away. **There are no compile times**
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during development, we only need to compile the app from scratch once in
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a while, to check that our dependencies or the project layout are
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correctly declared.
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We can, for example, define a new route and try it right away, **we
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don't wait for a local web server** to pick up the changes and
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restart. In case of an error, the interactive debugger pops up (if we
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want to), **no server will crash because of an undefined variable**
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(looking at you, Python). We can edit a function and compile it with a
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keyboard shortcut (the usual `C-c C-c` in Slime): we can compile our
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code *one function at a time*. The **feedback is
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immediate**.
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We can **choose the degree of interactivity**: the web server
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can catch exceptions and fire the interactive debugger, or print lisp
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backtraces on the browser, or display a 404 error page and print logs
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on standard output. The ability to build self-contained executables
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eases deployment tremendously (compared to, for example, npm-based
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apps), in that we just copy the executable to a server and run it.
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But we can also run it as a "script" from sources.
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In both cases, when we have deployed it, we can still **interact
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with the running application**, allowing for **hot code reload**. We
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can even install new dependencies while it is running, no process has
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to restart. Of course, if we prefer to be careful and we don't want to use live
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reload capabilities, we might still enjoy this capability to reload, for example,
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a user's configuration file.
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So Common Lisp can be a good choice for web development too. The
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ecosystem has lots of little or not so little libraries, including a
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production-ready, battle proven web framework (Hunchentoot).
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However, **we don't have a batteries-included web framework easily
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usable by novice web developers** (yet…). But now you have this guide.
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where to start? You are a beginner in web development, or a lisp
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amateur looking for clear and short pointers about web dev in Lisp?
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You are all at the right place.
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## What's in this guide
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We'll present here some established web frameworks and other common
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libraries to help you getting started in developing a web
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application. We do *not* aim to be exhaustive nor to replace the
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upstream documentation.
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We will learn:
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- how to start a simple web project with the Hunchentoot web server
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- defining routes
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- returning any content type, including JSON
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- serving HTML
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- HTML will be written in HTML, with a Django-like template engine (Djula), or a more flexible template engine (Ten, but Djula is already very flexible)
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- we will show how to write HTML in s-expressions (with Spinneret)
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- how to connect to a database, how to define models
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- how to serialize and deserialize the models to and from JSON
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- how to debug a running web app
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- how to serve JavaScript
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- how to make AJAX calls to our Lisp backend
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- with pure JavaScript
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- with Vue.js
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- with the ISSR lisp library
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- with the HTMX library
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- how to create user login
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- how to build and deploy a project
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- with executables
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- with SystemD
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- how to configure Nginx
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- how to setup third-party service providers (Sentry, Plausible web analytics, Graphana…)
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- how to set up a Continuous Integration system
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- how to build a Debian package.
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Your feedback and contributions are appreciated!
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**In [part 1](/part-1/), we will get to know a classical stack: Hunchentoot, easy-routes for easier routing and Djula templates.**
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In part 2, we will add interactivity on the client side, with or without JavaScript.
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In part 3, we will build an interactive Ajax-based Todo-app without writing any JavaScript, thanks to ISSR and Weblocks.
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Now let's start with a [libraries overview](/part 1/).
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{{% notice note %}}
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🎥 If you need to learn Common Lisp, good news, [I am creating this video course on Udemy](https://www.udemy.com/course/common-lisp-programming/?referralCode=2F3D698BBC4326F94358).
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{{% /notice %}}
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We'll start with a **tutorial** that shows the essential building blocks:
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{{% notice info %}}
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- starting a web server
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- defining routes
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- grabbing URL parameters
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- rendering templates
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- and running our app from sources, or building a binary.
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If you find similar content from the Cookbook, this is normal. I am the main contributor and I wrote the web page there. This guide wants to be more complete and more advanced.
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We'll build a simple page that presents a search form, filters a list of
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products and displays the results.
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{{% /notice %}}
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![](/tutorial/web-app.png?lightbox=false&shadow=true)
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{{% notice info %}}
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The **building blocks** section is organized by topics, so that with a
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question in mind you should be able to look at the table of contents, pick the right page and go ahead.
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Here's a 5 minutes refresh on how to create a project, how to run it from sources, how to build a binary and how to load everything in SLIME:
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We hope that it will be plenty useful to you.
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{{% /notice %}}
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Don't hesitate to share what you're building!
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{{< youtube XFc513MJjos >}}
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{{% notice info %}}
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🎥 If you want to learn Common Lisp efficiently, with a code-driven approach, good news, [I am creating a video course](https://www.udemy.com/course/common-lisp-programming/?referralCode=2F3D698BBC4326F94358) on the Udemy platform. Learn more and get coupons [here](https://github.com/vindarel/common-lisp-course-in-videos/). I also have [Common Lisp tutorial videos on Youtube](https://www.youtube.com/@vindarel).
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{{% /notice %}}
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Now let's go to [the tutorial](/tutorial/).
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## Contact
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We are @vindarel on [Discord's Lisp server](https://discord.gg/hhk46CE) and Mastodon. We can use Github
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Discussions for anything CL + web related.
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<!-- ## Keywords -->
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<!-- We will learn: -->
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<!-- - how to set up a project, with an .asd system definition and a package -->
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<!-- - how to develop interactively, re-compiling our definitions as we go -->
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<!-- - how to start a web project, using the Hunchentoot web server -->
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<!-- - defining routes and using query parameters -->
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<!-- - serving HTML and rendering templates -->
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<!-- - we will mainly write plain HTML with the Djula templating engine -->
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<!-- - but we'll also show how to write HTML in s-expressions with the Spinneret library -->
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<!-- - how to debug a running web app -->
57+
<!-- - how to connect to a database -->
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<!-- - how to create a JSON web API -->
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<!-- - how to serve JavaScript and static assets -->
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<!-- - how to make AJAX calls to our Lisp backend -->
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<!-- - with JavaScript -->
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<!-- - with the HTMX library -->
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<!-- - with Vue.js -->
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<!-- - with an isomorphic Common Lisp web framework -->
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<!-- - how to create users with a login page -->
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<!-- - how to build and deploy a project -->
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<!-- - with executables -->
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<!-- - with SystemD -->
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<!-- - how to configure Nginx -->
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<!-- {{< youtube XFc513MJjos >}} -->
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<!-- ## Why Common Lisp -->
76+
77+
<!-- For web development as for any other task, one can leverage Common -->
78+
<!-- Lisp's advantages: -->
79+
80+
<!-- - the **unmatched REPL** that even helps to interact with a running web app on your remote server, -->
81+
<!-- - the **exception handling system**, -->
82+
<!-- - **performance**, -->
83+
<!-- - easy deployment: ability to build **self-contained executables** containing all our static files, -->
84+
<!-- - **stability**, -->
85+
<!-- - **good threads story**, -->
86+
<!-- - **strong** and incremental **typing**, -->
87+
<!-- - etc. -->
88+
89+
<!-- All the development experience is very much interactive, allowing us -->
90+
<!-- to write and test features right away. **There are no compile times** -->
91+
<!-- during development, we only need to compile the app from scratch once in -->
92+
<!-- a while, to check that our dependencies or the project layout are -->
93+
<!-- correctly declared. -->
94+
95+
<!-- We can, for example, define a new route and try it right away, **we -->
96+
<!-- don't wait for a local web server** to pick up the changes and -->
97+
<!-- restart. In case of an error, the interactive debugger pops up (if we -->
98+
<!-- want to), **no server will crash because of an undefined variable** -->
99+
<!-- (looking at you, Python). We can edit a function and compile it with a -->
100+
<!-- keyboard shortcut (the usual `C-c C-c` in Slime): we can compile our -->
101+
<!-- code *one function at a time*. The **feedback is -->
102+
<!-- immediate**. -->
103+
104+
<!-- We can **choose the degree of interactivity**: the web server -->
105+
<!-- can catch exceptions and fire the interactive debugger, or print lisp -->
106+
<!-- backtraces on the browser, or display a 404 error page and print logs -->
107+
<!-- on standard output. The ability to build self-contained executables -->
108+
<!-- eases deployment tremendously (compared to, for example, npm-based -->
109+
<!-- apps), in that we just copy the executable to a server and run it. -->
110+
111+
<!-- But we can also run it as a "script" from sources. -->
112+
113+
<!-- In both cases, when we have deployed it, we can still **interact -->
114+
<!-- with the running application**, allowing for **hot code reload**. We -->
115+
<!-- can even install new dependencies while it is running, no process has -->
116+
<!-- to restart. Of course, if we prefer to be careful and we don't want to use live -->
117+
<!-- reload capabilities, we might still enjoy this capability to reload, for example, -->
118+
<!-- a user's configuration file. -->
119+
120+
<!-- So Common Lisp can be a good choice for web development too. The -->
121+
<!-- ecosystem has lots of little or not so little libraries, including a -->
122+
<!-- production-ready, battle proven web framework (Hunchentoot). -->
123+
124+
<!-- However, **we don't have a batteries-included web framework easily -->
125+
<!-- usable by novice web developers** (yet…). But now you have this guide. -->
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[hunchentoot]: https://edicl.github.io/hunchentoot
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[clack]: https://github.com/fukamachi/clack

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