There are two ways to use common lisp. The first one is directly in
a xterm by typing cl at the prompt. You'll get something that looks
like this:
> cl
Allegro CL 4.3.1 [SPARC; R1] (1/28/98 11:02)
Copyright (C) 1985-1997, Franz Inc., Berkeley, CA, USA. All Rights Reserved.
;; Optimization settings: safety 1, space 1, speed 1, debug 2.
;; For a complete description of all compiler switches given the
;; current optimization settings evaluate (EXPLAIN-COMPILER-SETTINGS).
USER(1):
so you're currently in a LISP session. To exit, simply type: (exit):
USER(1): (exit)
; Exiting Lisp
>
and you'll be returned to your unix prompt.
The second way, and the one I recommend, is to use LISP in an emacs session.
Here's what you do: open up an emacs session by typing: emacs &. A
window will open up. Next, hit the diamond key and the x key
at the same time. (The diamond key is referred to as the meta key, it is
on both sides of the space bar on the Suns on the undergrad lab). The
two keystrokes are commonly known as meta-x. On the bottom line of the
emacs session you'll see M-x. Next type fi:common-lisp and
hit enter through the ensuing messages. The lisp session will load in the
larger window of the emacs session and will look like the cl session.