Programming Books

Excellent Free Books to Learn about Clojure

Last Updated on September 21, 2023

Clojure is a dialect of the Lisp programming language. It’s a well-rounded language. It offers broad library support and runs on multiple operating systems.

Clojure is a dynamic functional general purpose programming language that runs on the Java platform, combining the approachability and interactive development of a scripting language with an efficient and robust infrastructure for multi-threaded programming. Clojure features a rich set of immutable, persistent data structures, first-class functions and dynamic typing. Clojure programs are composed of expressions and written in terms of abstractions.

By compiling into JVM bytecode, Clojure applications can be easily packaged and deployed to JVMs and application servers without added complexity. The language also provides macros which make it simple to use existing Java APIs. Clojure’s data structures all implement standard Java Interfaces, making it easy to run code implemented in Clojure from Java.

There’s lots of other good reasons to learn Clojure. It offers a modern take on Lisp. There’s an excellent parser library, and a fully featured logic engine. In Clojure, immutability is the default. Once an object or data structure is created, it cannot be changed. There are no variables.

Clojure currently ranks 46th in the TIOBE Index.

Your starting point to learn Clojure is the official documentation. But here’s 8 free books that will help you master this language.


1. Clojure Cookbook by Luke VanderHart & Ryan Neufeld

Clojure-CookbookClojure Cookbook is a book you’ll definitely want to read if you’re interested in learning how to program in Clojure. The book goes far beyond teaching this offering you sage advice how to use the language and its many common libraries.

You’ll learn a lot more than Clojure syntax and semantics. There’s lots of annotated example code with good analysis and concise explanation.

The book doubles as a reference guide and a book to unravel the mysteries of the language.

Grab the book from https://clojure-cookbook.com/. There’s also a GitHub repository.


2. Clojure for the Brave and True by Daniel Higginbotham

Clojure-for-the-Brave-and-TrueThis is another exceptional book that’s available to read online. But I recommend you buy a printed copy or an ebook to support the author.

Clojure for the Brave and True offers a “dessert-first” approach: you’ll start playing with real programs immediately, as you steadily acclimate to the abstract but powerful features of Lisp and functional programming. Inside you’ll find an offbeat, practical guide to Clojure, filled with quirky sample programs that catch cheese thieves and track glittery vampires.

Clojure for the Brave and True assumes no prior experience with Clojure, the Java Virtual Machine, or functional programming. Start reading at https://www.braveclojure.com/clojure-for-the-brave-and-true/.


3. Clojure from the ground up by Kyle Kingsbury

Clojure-from-the-ground-upClojure from the ground up is a good introduction to learn Clojure.

It aims to introduce newcomers and experienced programmers alike to the beauty of functional programming, starting with the simplest building blocks of software.

Non-commercial re-use with attribution is welcomed by the author.

Kyle is the developer of the Riemann monitoring system and Jepsen, the latter improves the safety of distributed databases, queues, consensus systems, etc.

Read the series at https://aphyr.com/tags/Clojure-from-the-ground-up.


4. Full Stack Clojure by Matt Makai

Full-Stack-ClojureFull Stack Clojure is an open book that explains each Clojure web application stack layer and provides the best web resources for those topics.

The material covers web frameworks, Compojure, deployment, servers, platform-as-a-service and more.

Read this guide at https://www.fullstackclojure.com/. There’s also a GitHub repository at https://github.com/mattmakai/fullstackclojure.com.


Next page: Page 2 – A Brief Beginner’s Guide To Clojure and more books

Pages in this article:
Page 1 – Clojure Cookbook and more books
Page 2 – A Brief Beginner’s Guide To Clojure and more books


All books in this series:

Free Programming Books
AdaALGOL-like programming language, extended from Pascal and other languages
AgdaDependently typed functional language based on intuitionistic Type Theory
ArduinoInexpensive, flexible, open source microcontroller platform
AssemblyAs close to writing machine code without writing in pure hexadecimal
AwkVersatile language designed for pattern scanning and processing language
BashShell and command language; popular both as a shell and a scripting language
BASICBeginner’s All-purpose Symbolic Instruction Code
CGeneral-purpose, procedural, portable, high-level language
C++General-purpose, portable, free-form, multi-paradigm language
C#Combines the power and flexibility of C++ with the simplicity of Visual Basic
ClojureDialect of the Lisp programming language
ClojureScriptCompiler for Clojure that targets JavaScript
COBOLCommon Business-Oriented Language
CoffeeScriptTranscompiles into JavaScript inspired by Ruby, Python and Haskell
CoqDependently typed language similar to Agda, Idris, F* and others
CrystalGeneral-purpose, concurrent, multi-paradigm, object-oriented language
CSSCSS (Cascading Style Sheets) specifies a web page’s appearance
DGeneral-purpose systems programming language with a C-like syntax
DartClient-optimized language for fast apps on multiple platforms
DylanMulti-paradigm language supporting functional and object-oriented coding
ECMAScriptBest known as the language embedded in web browsers
EiffelObject-oriented language designed by Bertrand Meyer
ElixirRelatively new functional language running on the Erlang virtual machine
ErlangGeneral-purpose, concurrent, declarative, functional language
F#Uses functional, imperative, and object-oriented programming methods
FactorDynamic stack-based programming language
ForthImperative stack-based programming language
FortranThe first high-level language, using the first compiler
GoCompiled, statically typed programming language
GroovyPowerful, optionally typed and dynamic language
HaskellStandardized, general-purpose, polymorphically, statically typed language
HTMLHyperText Markup Language
IconWide variety of features for processing and presenting symbolic data
JArray programming language based primarily on APL
JavaGeneral-purpose, concurrent, class-based, object-oriented, high-level language
JavaScriptInterpreted, prototype-based, scripting language
JuliaHigh-level, high-performance language for technical computing
KotlinMore modern version of Java
LabVIEWDesigned to enable domain experts to build power systems quickly
LaTeXProfessional document preparation system and document markup language
LispUnique features - excellent to study programming constructs
LogoDialect of Lisp that features interactivity, modularity, extensibility
LuaDesigned as an embeddable scripting language
MarkdownPlain text formatting syntax designed to be easy-to-read and easy-to-write
Objective-CObject-oriented language that adds Smalltalk-style messaging to C
OCamlThe main implementation of the Caml language
PascalImperative and procedural language designed in the late 1960s
PerlHigh-level, general-purpose, interpreted, scripting, dynamic language
PHPPHP has been at the helm of the web for many years
PostScriptInterpreted, stack-based and Turing complete language
PrologA general purpose, declarative, logic programming language
PureScriptSmall strongly, statically typed language compiling to JavaScript
PythonGeneral-purpose, structured, powerful language
QMLHierarchical declarative language for user interface layout - JSON-like syntax
RDe facto standard among statisticians and data analysts
RacketGeneral-purpose, object-oriented, multi-paradigm, functional language
RakuMember of the Perl family of programming languages
RubyGeneral purpose, scripting, structured, flexible, fully object-oriented language
RustIdeal for systems, embedded, and other performance critical code
ScalaModern, object-functional, multi-paradigm, Java-based language
SchemeA general-purpose, functional language descended from Lisp and Algol
ScratchVisual programming language designed for 8-16 year-old children
SQLAccess and manipulate data held in a relational database management system
Standard MLGeneral-purpose functional language characterized as "Lisp with types"
SwiftPowerful and intuitive general-purpose programming language
TclDynamic language based on concepts of Lisp, C, and Unix shells
TeXMarkup and programming language - create professional quality typeset text
TypeScriptStrict syntactical superset of JavaScript adding optional static typing
ValaObject-oriented language, syntactically similar to C#
VHDLHardware description language used in electronic design automation
VimLPowerful scripting language of the Vim editor
XMLRules for defining semantic tags describing structure ad meaning
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