# Getting started with Scheme

## What is Scheme?

Scheme is a statically scoped, weakly typed programming language which got invented in 1975 by Guy L. Steele and Gerald J. Sussman. Scheme is a dialect of the programming language Lisp. LispPad implements the latest Scheme standard, called R7RS (small), and includes a range of additional libraries.

## Specification

The Revised⁷ Report on the Algorithmic Language Scheme (R7RS), authored by Alex Shinn, John Cowan, and Arthur Gleckler is available in PDF format.

## Learning Scheme

The Scheme Programming Language by Kent Dybvig provides a well-written, comprehensive introduction into Scheme. The book is based on the R6RS standard, so it is not fully compatible with the language implemented by LispPad. Nevertheless, it is a great text book covering all aspects of Scheme.

Structure and Interpretation of Computer Programs by Harold Abelson and Gerald Jay Sussman is an intriguing introduction into programming with Scheme. This classic text book is revolutionary in many ways, covering literally all aspects of programming at great depth. It should be read by all Scheme programmers.

Another classical text book introducing programming in Scheme is Scheme and the Art of Programming by George Springer and Daniel P. Friedman.