Syntax error in Lisp code with loop and conditions - lisp

Question

What is the syntax error in following code?
(defun getchoice3 ()
(let ( (choice 1) )
(format t "~%Enter a number (1-5): ")
(loop for choice = (or (parse-integer (prompt-read "Choice: ") :junk-allowed t) 0) do
while (and (> choice 0) (< choice 6))
(cond
((= choice 1) (print "1 chosen"))
((= choice 2) (print "2 chosen"))
((= choice 3) (print "3 chosen"))
((= choice 4) (print "4 chosen"))
((= choice 5) (print "5 chosen"))
(t (print "invalid entry, exiting."))))
choice))
The error being reported is very general:
*** - LOOP: illegal syntax near
(COND ((= CHOICE 1) (PRINT "1 chosen")) ((= CHOICE 2) (PRINT "2 chosen")) ((= CHOICE 3) (PRINT "3 chosen"))
((= CHOICE 4) (PRINT "4 chosen")) ((= CHOICE 5) (PRINT "5 chosen")) (T (PRINT "0 chosen, exiting.")))
in
(LOOP FOR CHOICE = (OR (PARSE-INTEGER (PROMPT-READ "Choice: ") :JUNK-ALLOWED T) 0) WHILE (AND (> CHOICE 0) (< CHOICE 6))
(COND ((= CHOICE 1) (PRINT "1 chosen")) ((= CHOICE 2) (PRINT "2 chosen")) ((= CHOICE 3) (PRINT "3 chosen"))
((= CHOICE 4) (PRINT "4 chosen")) ((= CHOICE 5) (PRINT "5 chosen")) (T (PRINT "0 chosen, exiting."))))
Though 'do' is there in code, it is not being reported in Error message.

Answer 1

The syntax error is gone. You should actually try your code.
I fail to understand why you are not indenting the code properly. Without proper indentation you will not be able to write any working code, and especially not working Lisp code.
Your code:
(defun getchoice3 ()
(let ( (choice 1) )
(format t "~%Enter a number (1-5): ")
(loop for choice = (or (parse-integer (prompt-read "Choice: ") :junk-allowed t) 0)
while (and (> choice 0) (< choice 6)) do
(cond
((= choice 1) (print "1 chosen"))
((= choice 2) (print "2 chosen"))
((= choice 3) (print "3 chosen"))
((= choice 4) (print "4 chosen"))
((= choice 5) (print "5 chosen"))
(t (print "invalid entry, exiting."))))
choice)) ; <- WHY THIS INDENTATION?
The code properly formatted looks like more like this (there is not a single one way to format it, but indentation is always the same way):
(defun getchoice3 ()
(let ((choice 1))
(format t "~%Enter a number (1-5): ")
(loop for choice = (or (parse-integer (prompt-read "Choice: ")
:junk-allowed t)
0)
while (and (> choice 0)
(< choice 6))
do (cond
((= choice 1) (print "1 chosen"))
((= choice 2) (print "2 chosen"))
((= choice 3) (print "3 chosen"))
((= choice 4) (print "4 chosen"))
((= choice 5) (print "5 chosen"))
(t (print "invalid entry, exiting."))))
choice))
You see the difference for example in the last line? My version is correctly indented.
Why is that important? It may help you to understand that your function will always return 1. Independent of any input, the function will return always 1. Indentation helps you to understand what belongs to what, given some scope.
This is not correctly indented.
(let ((a 1))
(loop for a from 1 to 10)
a) ; <- where does this a belong to???
; this indentation indicates that A belongs to the LOOP
; which it doesn't
The correct indentation is:
(let ((a 1))
(loop for a from 1 to 10)
a) ; here it's clear to see that A was introduced by the LET construct
So, don't indent the code such a way how you dream it makes sense.
Use an editor command to do it correctly. Then you can spot the problems in your code much better.
Lisp code can be formatted and indented in arbitrary ways, because it uses an indentation independent data structure: the s-expression.
Lisp does not care:
(+ a b c)
or
(+
a b
c)
or
(+
a
b
c)
It's all the same for Lisp.
But not for humans. Only one version of those above is useful for humans to read.
If you don't put any effort into indenting and formatting your code, why should anyone put in the effort to answer your questions, which are so far all caused by trivial syntax errors.