Why is Python popular, while Lisp and Scheme aren't?

[Carl Banks]

Carl Banks wrote:
> Pascal Costanza wrote:
>> ...and so on. Now here is another nice macro.
>> 
>> (defmacro apply-operators (op-list arg-list)
>>     `(loop for op in ',op-list
>>            do (format t " ~A: ~A~%" op (funcall op , at arg-list))))
>
[snip]
> 
> I really don't think this is the best example for an advantage of Lisp
> syntax, if that's what you were trying to do, since it's trivial in
> Python also.
> 
> def apply_operators(oplist,arglist)
>    for op in oplist:
>        print "%s: %s" % (op.__name__, reduce(op,arglist))


Before someone else notices, the Python example isn't the same: unlike
the Lisp version, it doesn't handle empty lists.  That *isn't* trivial
to do in Python, and this kind of nicety of Lisp syntax probably does
come in handy once in awhile.

So, I retract my insinuation that it isn't a good example of an
advantage of Lisp syntax.  (But I still say it should be a function.)


-- 
CARL BANKS