[irjoe]

Is there a simple way to get code I write in a lisp REPL back into my editor? That's the part missing for me and why I usually only use interactive shells (REPL or otherwise) for testing APIs or small pieces of code.

I can't imagine writing a program in its entirety in a REPL.

[tarboreus]

You write it in the editor and send statements to the REPL. You're not just sitting looking at a command line. The REPL is a conversation with running state, but the conversation doesn't have to take place only through a single blinking terminal window. In proper REPL-driven development, the editor is fully integrated with the running session, and you can evaluate either in an attached terminal session or through your editor. Or by attaching whatever other tools to the running session.

[mikelevins]

Yes, exactly. It's perhaps my fault for not making this more explicit in the essay, but the "repl" in "repl-driven programming" does not mean the repl window.

[gumby]

The standard technique is to run the loop inside the editor. This technique dates back to the 1970s.