OpenLDK: Bringing the Java World into Common Lisp
Summary
OpenLDK is a JIT compiler and runtime for Java, written in Common Lisp, which translates Java bytecode into Lisp and lets SBCL compile it to native code. The article describes how Java objects, classes, and language interop map into Lisp constructs, and highlights benchmarks comparing OpenLDK snapshots with GraalVM native image, as well as deployment, build, and polyglot examples across Kotlin, Scala, Groovy, Clojure, Kawa, JScheme, and ABCL. It also discusses limitations and future work, including compatibility gaps and SBCL-centric development.