---
created_at: '2013-10-14T21:19:19.000Z'
title: 'Matz: Ruby''s Lisp features (2006)'
url: http://blade.nagaokaut.ac.jp/cgi-bin/scat.rb/ruby/ruby-talk/179642
author: juliangamble
points: 57
story_text: ''
comment_text: 
num_comments: 29
story_id: 
story_title: 
story_url: 
parent_id: 
created_at_i: 1381785559
_tags:
- story
- author_juliangamble
- story_6549713
objectID: '6549713'
year: 2006

---
[Source](http://blade.nagaokaut.ac.jp/cgi-bin/scat.rb/ruby/ruby-talk/179642 "Permalink to Re: Ruby's lisp features.")

# Re: Ruby's lisp features.

 <  [^ ][1] >   [P ][2] [N ][3] [|<][4]>[|][5] [^ ][4][_][3]>< [\---][6] [| ][7] [~ ][8][.][9][..][10][Help][11]

  
Subject: ******Re: Ruby's lisp features.**  
From: **Yukihiro Matsumoto **<matz@ b l g r   
Date: Mon, 13 Feb 2006 13:43:02 +0900  
In-reply-to: [179515][12]
    
    
    Hi,
    
    In message "Re: Ruby's lisp features."
        on Mon, 13 Feb 2006 02:38:18 +0900, Edward Kenworthy <edward / kenworthy.info> writes:
    
    |I've been programming for more years than I care to remember and am  
    |enjoying programming in Ruby (especially on Rails). So far I've found  
    |nothing "new" (to me) in Ruby, with the exception of the lisp-like  

    |features and that's something I'd really like to explore.  
    
    |Anyone able to point me to a resource please?

    
    Ruby is a language designed in the following steps:
    
      * take a simple lisp language (like one prior to CL).
      * remove macros, s-expression.
      * add simple object system (much simpler than CLOS).
      * add blocks, inspired by higher order functions.
      * add methods found in Smalltalk.
      * add functionality found in Perl (in OO way).
    
    So, Ruby was a Lisp originally, in theory.
    Let's call it MatzLisp from now on. ;-)
    
    							matz.
    
    

[1]: http://blade.nagaokaut.ac.jp/ruby/ruby-talk/179601-179800.shtml#179642
[2]: http://blade.nagaokaut.ac.jp/179615
[3]: http://blade.nagaokaut.ac.jp/179647
[4]: http://blade.nagaokaut.ac.jp/179515
[5]: http://blade.nagaokaut.ac.jp/179520
[6]: /cgi-bin/vframe.rb/ruby/ruby-talk/179642?179515-180544
[7]: /cgi-bin/vframe.rb/ruby/ruby-talk/179642?179515-180544+split-mode-vertical
[8]: http://blade.nagaokaut.ac.jp/179642
[9]: http://blade.nagaokaut.ac.jp/ruby/ruby-talk/index.shtml
[10]: http://blade.nagaokaut.ac.jp/ruby/index.shtml
[11]: /cgi-bin/scat.rb/ruby/ruby-talk/179642?help-en
[12]: http://blade.nagaokaut.ac.jp/cgi-bin/scat.rb/ruby/ruby-talk/179515