Ask HN: How to learn Clojure with Java experience?

3 pointsprydt1 comment

I have previously programmed in Java and want to get into using a Lisp. What would be some good resources for learning Clojure as a first Lisp?

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I think Clojure is definitely worth learning, even if you wouldn't get to use it on your day job! For a quick insight I'd recommend https://learnxinyminutes.com/docs/clojure/ and https://github.com/functional-koans/clojure-koans/tree/maste..., which will quickly get you through the basics.

As you might already know, Clojure being a being a LISP means it has a really minimal "syntax", which is a two-edged sword. Also programming with immutable data makes it necessary to have a new perspective on how to express and implement algorithms, but luckily Clojure has good "escape hatches" to the mutable world (atoms, STM etc.).

Oh and btw I find Nightcode (https://sekao.net/nightcode) a very good IDE for Clojure, I favor the legacy 1.3.x branch but I'm sure 2.x should have benefits over it as well. Emacs had some annoying hurdles to overcome.

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