What does Python fix?

[Joseph A Knapka]

François Pinard wrote:
> 
> [Mark McEahern]
> 
> > As for Lisp's parentheses, I've never used Lisp, but when I look at
> > examples, I have to control my overwhelming desire to vomit when I see that
> > profusion of parentheses.
> 
> Of course, whoever reads LISP code (and I still like LISP, even if I prefer
> Python) looks at the indentation to understand it, not the parentheses.

Yes. Lisp is conceptually beautiful, much more so than any
other languages I've used (though Forth and Prolog come close:-),
but the parens are just unbearable. McCarthy, it seems,
actually wanted Lisp to have syntax; I wonder what that
would have looked like?

Someone should write a Lisp system that uses indentation
a la Python instead of parens. That would rock. Especially
if it compiled to Python bytecode and could use the
entire Python library. Hmm.... I guess the result might
be called "Python."

Cheers,

-- Joe
"I should like to close this book by sticking out any part of my neck
 which is not yet exposed, and making a few predictions about how the
 problem of quantum gravity will in the end be solved."
 --- Physicist Lee Smolin, "Three Roads to Quantum Gravity"