1. The Case primitive: matches the evaluated key form against the unevaluated keys by using eql
The general format of case is the following:
(case <key form>
(<key 1> <consequent 1-1> ... <consequent 1-n>)
(<key 2> <consequent 2-1> ... <consequent 2-n>)
.....
(<key m> <consequent m-1> ... <consequent m-n>))
Example:
* (setf object 'sphere r 2) 2
* (case object
(circle (* pi r r))
(sphere (* 4 pi r r)))

2. The key may be an atom or a list; in the latter case the list is searched for the key by means of the member predicate
Example:
* (case object
((circle wheel) (* pi r r))
((ball sphere) (* 4 pi r r))
(otherwise 0)) ; if none of the clauses is triggered, case
; returns NIL, the otherwise clause (or t)
; can be used to set the returned value.

3. The problem reduction technique
Divide the problem into sub-problems each of which can be
handled separately.
Example: the both-ends procedure
(defun both-ends (whole-list)
(case (length whole-list)
( ) ==> (0 nil)
( ) ==> (1 (cons (first whole-list) whole-list))
( ) ==> (2 whole-list)
(t ))) ==> (t (cons (first whole-list)
(last whole-list)))))

4. The procedure abstraction technique: arrange procedures into “abstraction” layers.
Example: the both-ends procedure
* (defun both-ends (whole-list)
(make-list
(get-first-el whole-list)
(get-last-el whole-list)))
BOTH-ENDS
* (defun make-list (el-1 el-2)
(list el-1 el-2))
MAKE-LIST
* (defun get-first-el (list-1)
(first list-1))
GET-FIRST-EL
* (defun get-last-el (list-1)
(first (last list-1)))
GET-LAST-EL

5. Defvar and defparameter define global variables
(defvar *global*) declares *global* as a global variable.
(defvar *global* expression) assigns a value to *global*
(defparameter *global* expression) declares *global* as a global variable, and assings a value to it.
Examples:
>(defvar *var-1*) >(defparameter *par-1*)
*VAR-1* ERROR >(defvar *var-1* 222) >(defparameter *par-1* 77)
*VAR-1*
> *var-1* > *par-1*
> (defvar *var-1* 333) >(defparameter *par-1* 88)
*VAR-1* *PAR-1*

6. Singly recursive procedures: each recursive call originates only one new call
Example: compute the “n” power of m.
* (defun exponent (m n)
(if (zerop n) 1
(* m (exponent m (- n 1)))))
EXPONENT
* (exponent 2 3) 8
The behavior of recursive procedures can be observed by means of the
trace primitive. Untrace will undo the effect of trace. These have the
following syntax:
(trace <procedure name>)
(untrace <procedure name>)

7. (trace exponent) (EXPONENT)
* (trace exponent) (EXPONENT) * (exponent 2 3) | 1 Entering: EXPONENT, argument-list: (2 3) | 2 Entering: EXPONENT, argument-list: (2 2) | | 3 Entering: EXPONENT, argument-list: (2 1) | | 4 Entering: EXPONENT, argument-list: (2 0) | | 4 Exiting: EXPONENT, value 1 | | 3 Exiting: EXPONENT, value 2 | 2 Exiting: EXPONENT, value 4 | 1 Exiting: EXPONENT, value 8 8

8. Doubly recursive procedures: each call originates two recursive calls
Example: compute Fibonacci numbers
* (defun fibonacci (n)
(if (or (= n 0) (= n 1)) 1
(+ (fibonacci (- n 1))
(fibonacci (- n 2)))))
FIBONACCI
* (fibonacci 5) 8
* (trace fibonacci)
(FIBONACCI)

9. * (fibonacci 5) | 1 Entering: FIBONACCI, argument-list: (5) | 2 Entering: FIBONACCI, argument-list: (4) | | 3 Entering: FIBONACCI, argument-list: (3) | | 4 Entering: FIBONACCI, argument-list: (2) | | | 5 Entering: FIBONACCI, argument-list: (1) | | | 5 Exiting: FIBONACCI, value 1 | | | 5 Entering: FIBONACCI, argument-list: (0) | | 4 Exiting: FIBONACCI, value 2 | | 4 Entering: FIBONACCI, argument-list: (1) | | 4 Exiting: FIBONACCI, value 1 | | 3 Exiting: FIBONACCI, value 3 | | 3 Entering: FIBONACCI, argument-list: (2) | | 4 Entering: FIBONACCI, argument-list: (0) | | 3 Exiting: FIBONACCI, value 2 | 2 Exiting: FIBONACCI, value 5 | 2 Entering: FIBONACCI, argument-list: (3) | | 3 Entering: FIBONACCI, argument-list: (1) | | 3 Exiting: FIBONACCI, value 1 | 2 Exiting: FIBONACCI, value 3 | 1 Exiting: FIBONACCI, value 8 8

10. Tail recursive procedures: a way to make recursion efficient
Example: compute the number of elements in a list (version 1)
* (defun count-elements-1 (list-1)
(if (endp list-1)
(+ 1 (count-elements-1 (rest list-1)))))
COUNT-ELEMENTS-1
* (setf list-1 '(a b c d))
* (count-elements-1 list-1)
| 1 Entering: COUNT-ELEMENTS-1, argument-list: ((A B C D))
| 2 Entering: COUNT-ELEMENTS-1, argument-list: ((B C D))
| | 3 Entering: COUNT-ELEMENTS-1, argument-list: ((C D))
| | 4 Entering: COUNT-ELEMENTS-1, argument-list: ((D))
| | | 5 Entering: COUNT-ELEMENTS-1, argument-list: (NIL)
| | | 5 Exiting: COUNT-ELEMENTS-1, value 0
| | 4 Exiting: COUNT-ELEMENTS-1, value 1
| | 3 Exiting: COUNT-ELEMENTS-1, value 2
| 2 Exiting: COUNT-ELEMENTS-1, value 3
| 1 Exiting: COUNT-ELEMENTS-1, value 4 4

11. Tail recursion (cont.)
Example: compute the number of elements in a list (version 2)
* (defun count-elements-2 (list-1)
(count-elements-2-aux list-1 0))
COUNT-ELEMENTS-2
* (defun count-elements-2-aux (list-1 result)
(if (endp list-1)
result
(count-elements-2-aux (rest list-1) (+ 1 result))))
COUNT-ELEMENTS-2-AUX
* (count-elements-2 list-1)
| 1 Entering: COUNT-ELEMENTS-2-AUX, argument-list: ((A B C D) 0)
| 2 Entering: COUNT-ELEMENTS-2-AUX, argument-list: ((B C D) 1)
| | 3 Entering: COUNT-ELEMENTS-2-AUX, argument-list: ((C D) 2)
| | 4 Entering: COUNT-ELEMENTS-2-AUX, argument-list: ((D) 3)
| | | 5 Entering: COUNT-ELEMENTS-2-AUX, argument-list: (NIL 4)
| | | 5 Exiting: COUNT-ELEMENTS-2-AUX, value 4
| | 4 Exiting: COUNT-ELEMENTS-2-AUX, value 4
| | 3 Exiting: COUNT-ELEMENTS-2-AUX, value 4
| 2 Exiting: COUNT-ELEMENTS-2-AUX, value 4
| 1 Exiting: COUNT-ELEMENTS-2-AUX, value 4 4

12. The Tower of Hanoi example
Version 1: uses a doubly recursive procedure.
* (defun tower-of-hanoi-1 (list-of-disks)
(if (endp list-of-disks)
(+ (tower-of-hanoi-1 (rest list-of-disks)) 1
(tower-of-hanoi-1 (rest list-of-disks)))))
TOWER-OF-HANOI-1
Version 2: uses a singly recursive procedure.
* (defun tower-of-hanoi-2 (list-of-disks)
(+ 1 (* 2 (tower-of-hanoi-2 (rest list-of-disks))))))
TOWER-OF-HANOI-2

13. Iteration control structure: the DOTIMES primitive
Dotimes supports iteration on numbers. It has the following format: (dotimes (<count parameter> <upper-bound form> <result form>) <body>) When dotimes is entered, the upper-bound form is evaluated resulting in a number, say n. Numbers between 0 and n-1 are assigned to the count parameter one by one, and for each one of these numbers the body is evaluated. Finally, the result form is evaluated, and its value is returned by dotimes (if the result form is missing, dotimes returns NIL).

14. Example: compute the “n” power of m.
* (defun exponent-2 (m n)
(let ((result 1))
(dotimes (count n result)
(setf result (* m result)) )))
(print result)
EXPONENT-2
* (trace exponent-2)
(EXPONENT-2)
* (exponent-2 3 3)
| 1 Entering: EXPONENT-2, argument-list: (3 3) ; trace is not very useful here.
| 1 Exiting: EXPONENT-2, value ; Incorporating print forms to see
; intermediate results is better.

15. Iteration control stucture: the DOLIST primitive
Dolist supports iteration on lists. Its format is the following: (dolist (<element parameter> <list form> <result form>) <body>) When dolist is entered, the list form is evaluated returning a list of elements. Each one of them is assigned to the element parameter, and the body is evaluated. Finally, the result form is evaluated, and its value is returned by dolist (if the result form is missing, dolist returns NIL).

16. Example: count number of a’s in a list.
* (defun count-a (list-1) (let ((result 0)) (dolist (element list-1 result) (when (eql element 'a) (setf result (+ 1 result)))))) COUNT-A * (setf list-1 '(a s d f a s d w a a)) (A S D F A S D W A A) * (count-a list-1) 4

17. DOTIMES and DOLIST can be terminated by the (return <expression>) form
Whenever (return <expression>) is encountered, dotimes/dolist
terminates and returns the value of <expression>.
Example: does the list contain at least “n” a’s? If yes, return them as soon as they are found.
* (defun find-n-a (n list-1)
(let ((result 0) (a-list nil))
(dolist (element list-1 a-list)
(cond ((<= n result) (return a-list))
((eql element 'a) (setf result (+ 1 result))
(setf a-list (cons element a-list)))))))
FIND-N-A
* (find-n-a 2 list-1)
(A A)

18. The DO primitive works on both numbers and lists, and is more general than DOTIMES and DOLIST
Do has the following format: (do ((<parameter 1> <initial value 1> <update form 1>) (<parameter 2> <initial value 2> <update form 2>) ….. (<parameter n> <initial value n> <update form n>)) (<termination test> <intermediate forms> <result form>) <body>) When do is entered, its parameters are set to their initial values in parallel (in the same way as in the let form). If there are no parameters, an empty parameter list must be provided. The termination test is evaluated always before the body is evaluated. If it succeeds, intermediate forms and the result form are evaluated; the value of the result form is returned by do (if no result form is given, do returns NIL).

19. Example: compute “n” power of m
Version 1:
* (defun exponent-3 (m n)
(do ((result 1)
(exponent n))
((zerop exponent) result)
(setf result (* m result))
(setf exponent (- exponent 1))))
EXPONENT-3
* (exponent-3 3 3) 27
Version 2:
* (defun exponent-4 (m n)
(do ((result 1)
(exponent n))
( )
(when (zerop exponent) (return result))
(setf result (* m result))
(setf exponent (- exponent 1))))
EXPONENT-4
* (exponent-4 3 3) 27

20. DO* assigns initial values to parameters sequentially (like let*)
Example which does not work
* (defun exponent-5 (m n)
(do ((result m (* m result))
(exponent n (- exponent 1))
(counter (- exponent 1) (- exponent 1)))
((zerop counter) result)))
EXPONENT-5
* (exponent-5 3 3)
*** Debugger warning: leftover specials ***
>>> Error: {Determining function in error.}
>>> Error:Unbound variable: EXPONENT
(#<COMPILED-FUNCTION 3:E196> ...)
DO* solves the problem.
* (defun exponent-6 (m n)
(do* ((result m (* m result))
(exponent n (- exponent 1))
(counter (- exponent 1) (- exponent 1)))
((zerop counter) result)))
EXPONENT-6
A better solution:
* (defun exponent-7 (m n)
(do* ((result 1 (* m result))
(counter exponent (- counter 1)))
EXPONENT-7

21. The LOOP primitive implements infinite loop if (return <expression>) is not encountered
Loop has the following format:
(loop <body>)
Example: count the number of elements in a list.
* (setf list-1 '(a b c d e))
(A B C D E)
* (setf count-elements 0)
* (loop (when (endp list-1) (return count-elements))
(setf count-elements (+ 1 count-elements))
(setf list-1 (rest list-1))) 5

22. The PROG1 and PROGN primitives allow several forms to be viewed as a group in which forms are evaluated sequentially.
Prog1 has the following form:
(prog1 <form 1> <form 2> … <form n>).
All forms are evaluated, and prog1 returns the value of the first form.
Progn has the following form:
(progn <form 1> <form 2> … <form n>).
All forms are evaluated, and progn returns the value of the last form.
Example:
* (prog1 (eql 'a 'a) (setf a 5)) T
* (progn (eql 'a 'a) (setf a 5)) 5

23. The FORMAT primitive: produces more elegant printing than PRINT
Example:
* (format t "Hi there!")Hi there!; the t argument says that
; the output should be ; printed at the terminal. NIL
To print a string on a new line, the ~% directive should be placed at the
beginning of the string:
* (format t "~%Hi there!")
Hi there!
NIL
The TERPRI primitive also moves the cursor to a new line. For example:
* (prog1 (terpri) (format t "Hi")) Hi
The ~& directive tells format to print on a new line, if it is not already on
a new line, while the ~a directive tells format to insert the value of an
additional argument which appears after format’s string.

24. More examples * (progn (format t "~%Student name: ~a" name)
(format t "~&Major: ~a" major))
Student name: ANNA
Major: CS
NIL
* (format t "~%Student name: ~10a Major: ~10a" name major)
Student name: ANNA Major: CS
* (format t "~%Student name: ~20a Major: ~10a" name major)
Student name: ANNA Major: CS

25. The Read primitive reads a value from the keyboard
Examples:
* (read)hello ; the input is typed immediately after read.
HELLO
* (setf greetings (read))hi ; the input can be assigned to a variable. HI
* greetings
* (setf greetings (read))(hi there!) ; if the input contains more
(HI THERE!) ; than one symbol it must be enclosed in a list.
(HI THERE!)

26. Print and read used in combination allow for a more informative dialog
Example:
* (prog1 (print '(Please enter your name))
(setf name (read))
(print (append '(hi) (list name) '(how are you today?))))
(PLEASE ENTER YOUR NAME) neli
(HI NELI HOW ARE YOU TODAY?)
(PLEASE ENTER YOUR NAME)
* name
NELI
Do not use “:” in the print argument; for example, name: will be understood
as a reference to a package which does not exist and will result in an error.

27. Read, Terpri and Format in combination can also be used for a more informative dialog
Example:
* (prog1 (terpri)
(format t "Please enter your name : ")
(setf name (read)) (terpri)
(format t "Hi ~a how are you today?" name))
Please enter your name : neli
Hi NELI how are you today?
NIL
Notice the space between “name” and “:” in the format statement.