The Computer Language Benchmarks Game is a collection of 429 programs, consisting of 13 benchmark reimplemented across 33 programming languages. It is a fantastic resource if you are trying to compare programming languages quantitatively. Which, oddly, very few people seems to be interested in doing.
Lisp is often promoted as a language preferable over others because it has certain features that are unique, well-integrated, or otherwise useful. What follows is an attempt to highlight a selection of these features of standard Common Lisp, concisely, with appropriate illustrations. This page might be most useful to those with some previous experience in programming, who are marginally interested in Lisp, and want to better understand some of what makes it so attractive.
a machine for real programmers