# Introduction

Welcome to Medley Interlisp for Beginners! This primer is intended for readers who've programmed before in at least one other language. We don't assume expertise, but we do expect you to be comfortable with thinking in code and computation. So, some background, even if trivial, always helps!

Interlisp is a dialect of Lisp from the 80s. While Common Lisp was an amalgamation of community-guided standard practices, other interesting dialects at the periphery of the language were set aside. Interlisp is one such dialect of Lisp. Medley is a graphical development environment built to facilitate exploratory and interactive programming with Interlisp and Common Lisp. 

Combined, Medley Interlisp is a powerful tool for building quick interfaces and modular Lisp programs, with numerous quality-of-life features that still hold value for programmers coming from modern systems.

Before you dive into the primer, do take your time to explore the excellent collection of resources available at <https://interlisp.org/>. As a newcomer, contextualizing this novel system within its history will add more depth and richness to your experience. We urge that you do a bit of self-guided research about Lisp's fascinating history, why it was so significant to the evolution of programming, and how it differs from other languages.&#x20;

If you're looking for a centralized hub of literature related to Interlisp and Medley, look no further than our rich bibliography at <https://interlisp.org/history/bibliography/>.

This primer is a great starting point, serving as a beginner's guide to programming in Interlisp! This text has one goal: to teach you different features of Medley Interlisp while simultaneously building a solid foundation and muscle memory of writing Interlisp and interacting with Medley.&#x20;

It'll cover only a little more than the basics of the environment. For a more comprehensive reference, please refer to the [Interlisp Reference Manual](https://interlisp.org/documentation/IRM.pdf) (IRM).

Take a look at our FAQ section on the website before you start: <https://interlisp.org/project/faqs/>


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