I’m around year eight of hacking away professionally and bumped against the dramatic power differential in programming languages when I primarily became a database developer. I started "thinking in sets" and found that I was much more effective. SQL got more work done in fewer lines of code in a simple way than hooking up my J2EE java junk via JDBC in more traditional programming. But it took the direct use of SQL for a couple of years before the experience pushed my coding to the next level. Much of this benefit was due to the fact that the apps I worked on were really data driven and "fit" the relational data model well, coupled with the fact that I was in a role that allowed me to do architecture design and low level implementation. And tear the design and implementation apart to do it again after finding all the nuances in the app and data.

The switch from imperative programming languages to a declarative programming language to take advantage of SQL has made me curious about Lisp and functional programming. I have an idea for a web app and I’ll use it as a vehicle to test out Lisp. Worst case, I pick up a language that purports to have almost mystical powers (all hail the mighty macro). Best case, a nice startup could grow out of the project. But the real point is to get real hands-on experience with a more powerful language than the standard C, Java, Perl, and SQL stuff I’ve already done. Plus, I’d hate to miss out on some key part of a hacker’s personal growth over that 10 year march . . .

That’s a lot of background to get to two simple questions.

Do any of the HN readers have any tips or advice on speeding up the transition to "thinking in Lisp"? I’ll probably be hacking away using Practical Common Lisp and On Lisp as my guides (SICP is probably somewhere in the mix). Have any of you followed a similar path as you head towards a decade of hacking and did the Lisp (or other fp language) dance grow your skills in a big way (ie, now I’m a faster developer in general or better algorithm designer or communicator of code ideas)? It would be great to hear specifics.

Thanks.