How can I improve clisp error messages?

Question

I have been dabbling a little with clisp. It is a little perplexing that it doesn't print out the line number an error is at. Or, at least a general hint where the error is located. In some cases that must be possible, right? Is there any way I can get better error messages?

Answer 1

As in most questions I see involving clisp, the answer is probably "don't use clisp".

As you might be aware, clisp is but one of many implementations of Common Lisp, and probably not one of the more popular ones. SBCL, Clozure, Allegro, and LispWorks are probably better choices for most tasks.

edit:

Also, using SLIME in emacs to debug your programs helps a good deal. You might get better debugger output even from clisp (and the others) using SLIME.

Answer 2

First of all, Lisp reader reads forms, not lines, so "line number" makes little sense to it.

That said, Lisp knows the lines where the form starts and ends, and those values are actually reported by SLIME. The reason they are not reported by default is that it is assumed that the debugger will make this information accessible in situations where it is necessary and appropriate.