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susam
mathb
Common Lisp2022–2025
susam / mathb

mathb

Mathematics pastebin software that powered MathB.in from 2012 to 2025

Web DevelopmentLanguages & CompilersProductivityScience & Engineering
Explore on GitHubRead Hacker News discussions
3Distinct people
8Mentions
0Explicit recommenders
371GitHub stars
REPOSITORY AT A GLANCE

What to know before exploring

What it is

Mathematics pastebin software that powered MathB.in from 2012 to 2025

GitHub

Where it is used

No documented product use has been verified yet.

What people are saying

No recommendation phrase was found in the indexed comments.

No classified warning is attached to this page. Read the discussions before treating silence as approval.

Also in these discussions

Mentioned in the same Hacker News threads. That is not proof they are substitutes.

This week on Hacker News

Nov 7–Nov 14 UTC · Direct repository links and separately labeled related project stories. Indexed through 11/14/2026, 1:49:46 PM UTC.

No direct repository links were found in the indexed HN discussions over the past seven days. Older discussions are available below.

Mentions over time

HN mentions by month8 dated mentions

Observed mentions: 2022-09-23 11:34:46 UTC to 2025-04-23 19:27:07 UTC.

0122022-09-01 00:00:00 UTC to 2022-10-01 00:00:00 UTC (exclusive): 2 mentions; 1 submissions, 1 commentsSep 20222022-10-01 00:00:00 UTC to 2022-11-01 00:00:00 UTC (exclusive): 1 mentions; 0 submissions, 1 comments2022-11-01 00:00:00 UTC to 2022-12-01 00:00:00 UTC (exclusive): 1 mentions; 0 submissions, 1 comments2022-12-01 00:00:00 UTC to 2023-01-01 00:00:00 UTC (exclusive): 0 mentions; 0 submissions, 0 comments2023-01-01 00:00:00 UTC to 2023-02-01 00:00:00 UTC (exclusive): 0 mentions; 0 submissions, 0 comments2023-02-01 00:00:00 UTC to 2023-03-01 00:00:00 UTC (exclusive): 0 mentions; 0 submissions, 0 comments2023-03-01 00:00:00 UTC to 2023-04-01 00:00:00 UTC (exclusive): 0 mentions; 0 submissions, 0 comments2023-04-01 00:00:00 UTC to 2023-05-01 00:00:00 UTC (exclusive): 1 mentions; 0 submissions, 1 comments2023-05-01 00:00:00 UTC to 2023-06-01 00:00:00 UTC (exclusive): 0 mentions; 0 submissions, 0 comments2023-06-01 00:00:00 UTC to 2023-07-01 00:00:00 UTC (exclusive): 0 mentions; 0 submissions, 0 comments2023-07-01 00:00:00 UTC to 2023-08-01 00:00:00 UTC (exclusive): 1 mentions; 0 submissions, 1 comments2023-08-01 00:00:00 UTC to 2023-09-01 00:00:00 UTC (exclusive): 0 mentions; 0 submissions, 0 comments2023-09-01 00:00:00 UTC to 2023-10-01 00:00:00 UTC (exclusive): 0 mentions; 0 submissions, 0 comments2023-10-01 00:00:00 UTC to 2023-11-01 00:00:00 UTC (exclusive): 0 mentions; 0 submissions, 0 comments2023-11-01 00:00:00 UTC to 2023-12-01 00:00:00 UTC (exclusive): 0 mentions; 0 submissions, 0 comments2023-12-01 00:00:00 UTC to 2024-01-01 00:00:00 UTC (exclusive): 0 mentions; 0 submissions, 0 commentsDec 20232024-01-01 00:00:00 UTC to 2024-02-01 00:00:00 UTC (exclusive): 0 mentions; 0 submissions, 0 comments2024-02-01 00:00:00 UTC to 2024-03-01 00:00:00 UTC (exclusive): 0 mentions; 0 submissions, 0 comments2024-03-01 00:00:00 UTC to 2024-04-01 00:00:00 UTC (exclusive): 0 mentions; 0 submissions, 0 comments2024-04-01 00:00:00 UTC to 2024-05-01 00:00:00 UTC (exclusive): 0 mentions; 0 submissions, 0 comments2024-05-01 00:00:00 UTC to 2024-06-01 00:00:00 UTC (exclusive): 0 mentions; 0 submissions, 0 comments2024-06-01 00:00:00 UTC to 2024-07-01 00:00:00 UTC (exclusive): 0 mentions; 0 submissions, 0 comments2024-07-01 00:00:00 UTC to 2024-08-01 00:00:00 UTC (exclusive): 0 mentions; 0 submissions, 0 comments2024-08-01 00:00:00 UTC to 2024-09-01 00:00:00 UTC (exclusive): 0 mentions; 0 submissions, 0 comments2024-09-01 00:00:00 UTC to 2024-10-01 00:00:00 UTC (exclusive): 0 mentions; 0 submissions, 0 comments2024-10-01 00:00:00 UTC to 2024-11-01 00:00:00 UTC (exclusive): 0 mentions; 0 submissions, 0 comments2024-11-01 00:00:00 UTC to 2024-12-01 00:00:00 UTC (exclusive): 0 mentions; 0 submissions, 0 comments2024-12-01 00:00:00 UTC to 2025-01-01 00:00:00 UTC (exclusive): 0 mentions; 0 submissions, 0 comments2025-01-01 00:00:00 UTC to 2025-02-01 00:00:00 UTC (exclusive): 0 mentions; 0 submissions, 0 comments2025-02-01 00:00:00 UTC to 2025-03-01 00:00:00 UTC (exclusive): 1 mentions; 0 submissions, 1 comments2025-03-01 00:00:00 UTC to 2025-04-01 00:00:00 UTC (exclusive): 0 mentions; 0 submissions, 0 comments2025-04-01 00:00:00 UTC to 2025-05-01 00:00:00 UTC (exclusive): 1 mentions; 0 submissions, 1 commentsApr 2025

Counts come from the repository’s dated source evidence. Index cutoff: 2026-11-02 08:16:59 UTC.

View mention counts and date ranges
UTC ranges include their start and exclude their end. Select a period to filter the source evidence.
PeriodStart (UTC)End (exclusive, UTC)MentionsSubmissionsComments
Sep 20222022-09-01 00:00:00 UTC2022-10-01 00:00:00 UTC211
Oct 20222022-10-01 00:00:00 UTC2022-11-01 00:00:00 UTC101
Nov 20222022-11-01 00:00:00 UTC2022-12-01 00:00:00 UTC101
Dec 20222022-12-01 00:00:00 UTC2023-01-01 00:00:00 UTC000
Jan 20232023-01-01 00:00:00 UTC2023-02-01 00:00:00 UTC000
Feb 20232023-02-01 00:00:00 UTC2023-03-01 00:00:00 UTC000
Mar 20232023-03-01 00:00:00 UTC2023-04-01 00:00:00 UTC000
Apr 20232023-04-01 00:00:00 UTC2023-05-01 00:00:00 UTC101
May 20232023-05-01 00:00:00 UTC2023-06-01 00:00:00 UTC000
Jun 20232023-06-01 00:00:00 UTC2023-07-01 00:00:00 UTC000
Jul 20232023-07-01 00:00:00 UTC2023-08-01 00:00:00 UTC101
Aug 20232023-08-01 00:00:00 UTC2023-09-01 00:00:00 UTC000
Sep 20232023-09-01 00:00:00 UTC2023-10-01 00:00:00 UTC000
Oct 20232023-10-01 00:00:00 UTC2023-11-01 00:00:00 UTC000
Nov 20232023-11-01 00:00:00 UTC2023-12-01 00:00:00 UTC000
Dec 20232023-12-01 00:00:00 UTC2024-01-01 00:00:00 UTC000
Jan 20242024-01-01 00:00:00 UTC2024-02-01 00:00:00 UTC000
Feb 20242024-02-01 00:00:00 UTC2024-03-01 00:00:00 UTC000
Mar 20242024-03-01 00:00:00 UTC2024-04-01 00:00:00 UTC000
Apr 20242024-04-01 00:00:00 UTC2024-05-01 00:00:00 UTC000
May 20242024-05-01 00:00:00 UTC2024-06-01 00:00:00 UTC000
Jun 20242024-06-01 00:00:00 UTC2024-07-01 00:00:00 UTC000
Jul 20242024-07-01 00:00:00 UTC2024-08-01 00:00:00 UTC000
Aug 20242024-08-01 00:00:00 UTC2024-09-01 00:00:00 UTC000
Sep 20242024-09-01 00:00:00 UTC2024-10-01 00:00:00 UTC000
Oct 20242024-10-01 00:00:00 UTC2024-11-01 00:00:00 UTC000
Nov 20242024-11-01 00:00:00 UTC2024-12-01 00:00:00 UTC000
Dec 20242024-12-01 00:00:00 UTC2025-01-01 00:00:00 UTC000
Jan 20252025-01-01 00:00:00 UTC2025-02-01 00:00:00 UTC000
Feb 20252025-02-01 00:00:00 UTC2025-03-01 00:00:00 UTC101
Mar 20252025-03-01 00:00:00 UTC2025-04-01 00:00:00 UTC000
Apr 20252025-04-01 00:00:00 UTC2025-05-01 00:00:00 UTC101

What Hacker News says

8 sources
susam·Apr 23, 2025
I use Common Lisp (CL) for some of my small personal projects. A few publicly available examples I can share include my website [1] and a now-defunct mathematics pastebin [2]. My CL projects are usually text-oriented, not graphics-oriented. What keeps me coming back to CL is how convenient the live coding environment is. When I am exploring ideas that are not fully concrete yet, I can begin by writing a small set of functions with very basic functionality. Then as the ideas evolve, I can refine existing functions or add new ones, then quickly "reload" them (with say, C-M-x in Emacs), and see the effects immediately. There is no separate compile or rebuild step. I don't have to restart any service or application. The effects are truly immediate -- what previously did X, now does Y. In the Python or JavaScript ecosystems, similar liv
Read the rest
e reloading capability is often provided by frameworks (e.g., FastAPI, React, etc.), which monitor file changes during development. In CL, it's just part of the language implementation itself. Of course, at the end of the day, everything is committed and pushed to a version control system. Sometimes I restart the application too just to be sure it reflects the actual source, especially, after hours of live reloading. The stereotype of Lisp programmers making all of their modifications in an ephemeral image and then dumping it all to disk is not something I have actually seen in practice, at least not among the people I know. So the rest of the software development practices happen to be typical. But during exploration, debugging, or troubleshooting, the live coding experience in Common Lisp is so seamless, it feels like programming at the speed of thought. [1] https://github.com/susam/susam.net [2] https://github.com/susam/mathb
In Graphics livecoding in Common Lisp
toomuchtodo·Feb 25, 2025
> The source code for this website is available at https://github.com/susam/mathb under the MIT license. Feel free to use the code and set up your own instance if you'd like! Alternatively, consider hosting your mathematical snippets and notes on your own web space using a kit like MathCask available at https://github.com/susam/mathcask. Previous: https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43158382 (no comments) https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=43153324 (no comments)
In Mathb.in is shutting down on March 16, 2025 after 13 years of service
susam·Jul 16, 2023
I have a similar setup for my personal and project websites. Some similarities and differences: * I use Linode VMs ($5/month). * I too use Debian GNU/Linux. * I use Common Lisp to write the software. * In case of a personal website or blog, a static website is generated by a Common Lisp program. In case of an online service or web application, the service is written as a Common Lisp program that uses Hunchentoot to process HTTP requests and return HTTP responses. * I too use systemd unit files to ensure that the website/service starts automatically when the VM starts or restarts. Most of my unit files are about 10-15 lines long. * The initial configuration of the VM is coded as a shell script: https://github.com/susam/dotfiles/blob/main/linode.sh * Project-specific or service-specific configuration is coded as individual Makefiles. Exampl
Read the rest
es: https://github.com/susam/susam.net/blob/main/Makefile and https://github.com/susam/mathb/blob/main/Makefile * I do not use containers. These websites have been running since several years before containers were popular. I have found that the initialization script and a Makefile have been sufficient for my needs so far. * I use Nginx too. Nginx serves the static files as well as functions as a reverse proxy when there are backend services involved. Indeed TLS termination is an important benefit it offers. Other benefits include rate limiting requests, configuring an allowlist for HTTP headers to protect the backend service, etc. * I have a little private playbook with a handful of commands like: curl LINK -o linode.sh && sh linode.sh git clone LINK && cd PROJECT && sudo make setup https * The `make` targets do whatever is necessary to set up the website. This includes installing tools like Nginx, certbot, sbcl, etc., setting up Nginx configuration, setting up certificates, etc. Once the `make` command completes, the website is live on the world wide web.
In How I run my servers (2022)
susam·Apr 28, 2023
https://mathb.in/ I wrote this 11 years ago for my friends and myself who were going through a phase in our lives when we used to challenge each other with mathematical puzzles. The use of this tool spread from my friends to their friends and colleagues, then schools and universities, and then to IRC channels. Now it is the oldest mathematics pastebin that is still online and serving its community of users. Visit https://github.com/susam/mathb for the source code of this tool.
In Ask HN: Most interesting tech you built for just yourself?
vindarel·Nov 4, 2022
Alright, here's my little selection of projects. If you don't see a project in your field it doesn't mean there is no software or library. Are they as awesome as the Rust/Go projects? It depends. Is it an exhaustive list? No. For a list of companies using CL and more projects, old or current, see the other links. ## Music - [OpusModus](http://opusmodus.com/) - a comprehensive computer-aided environment for the whole work of music composition. [Proprietary]. - [OM7](https://github.com/openmusic-project/om7) - a new implementation of the OpenMusic visual programming and computer-aided composition environment including a number of improvements on graphical interface, computational mode, and connection to external software libraries. [GPL3][2]. - [ScoreCloud](https://scorecloud.com/) - A web and mobile application to automatically create musi
Read the rest
c notation from music performance or recordings. Built with LispWorks. ## DB tools - [Pgloader](https://github.com/dimitri/pgloader/) - Migrate to PostgreSQL in a single command!. [PostgreSQL License] - [Pgchart](https://github.com/dimitri/pgcharts) - A self-contained web application that takes as input an SQL query text and outputs its data as a chart. [No License Specified] ## Utils - [Cepl](https://github.com/cbaggers/cepl) - Code Evaluate Play Loop. [2-clause BSD]. - [Regex-coach](http://weitz.de/regex-coach/) - a graphical application for Windows which can be used to experiment with (Perl-compatible) regular expressions interactively. Freeware. ## Text editors - [Lem](https://github.com/cxxxr/lem) - Common Lisp editor/IDE with high expansibility. [MIT]. Works for many languages, has a LSP client. ## Math - [Maxima](https://sourceforge.net/projects/maxima/files/) - Computer Algebra System written in Common Lisp. [GPL2]. - https://github.com/susam/mathb A math pastebin ## Graphics - [Sketch](https://github.com/vydd/sketch) -A Common Lisp framework for the creation of electronic art, visual design, game prototyping, game making, computer graphics, exploration of human-computer interaction, and more. ## Productivity - [Grammarly](https://www.grammarly.com/) - Grammar checking. [Proprietary]. - [Deftask](https://deftask.com/) - Painless task management for teams. [Partly Open Source]. - [Ichiran](https://github.com/tshatrov/ichiran) - Linguistic tools for texts in Japanese language. [MIT]. - [Ballish](https://gitlab.com/ralt/ballish - a pretty fast code search tool. ### Window Manager - [Stumpwm](https://github.com/stumpwm/stumpwm) - The Stump Window Manager. ## Mobile Applications - [ScoreCloud Express](https://apps.apple.com/us/app/scorecloud-express/id566535238) - An iPhone and iPad application that automatically creates music notation from music performance or recordings. ### Games Just 2: - Kandria https://kandria.com/ - [sucle](https://github.com/terminal625/sucle) - A Minecraft clone (voxel game engine). [MIT]. - [Notalone](https://github.com/borodust/notalone) - You wake up nowhere in the night. Hungry zombies around, but your ol' pal "BOOMSTICK" is with you. [GPL3] My selection comes from https://github.com/azzamsa/awesome-cl-software
In Why Lisp?
vindarel·Oct 4, 2022
Here's a nice interview of a company using CL for their document processing stack: https://lisp-journey.gitlab.io/blog/lisp-interview-kina/ (edit: not a pure CL web stack: Ruby to CL logic via websockets to a lispy client side) Example apps I can think of: Screenshot bot: https://github.com/screenshotbot/screenshotbot-oss Webcheckout: https://webcheckout.net/ (they were hiring recently) Math Pastebin: https://github.com/susam/mathb Ultralisp: https://ultralisp.org/ (built with their Weblocks refactoring) A programmable desktop and bookmark application with CLOG (TEASER) https://www.reddit.com/gallery/w4rj4k (https://codeberg.org/mmontone/mold-desktop/)
In Building a Startup on Clojure

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