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

[Tim Lavoie]

>>>>> "C//" == Courageous  <jkraska at san.rr.com> writes:

    >> Common Lisp is not designed for newbies but for experts.

    C//> This little oft-repeated meme is exactly what has consigned
    C//> Common Lisp to the dust bin of programming history.

No, I don't think so, it is more likely to boil down to syntax phobias
and lack of useful exposure. I'm sure Common Lisp would be more
popular if Microsoft adopted it, so we could trip over "Common Lisp
for Dummies" books at Wal-Mart... but I'm not convinced that that
would be a good thing.

I prefer that my tools are well-designed and built, with logical
forethought put into their way of doing things. CL and Python both
fall into this category, so I'm happy with both. If they become
popular, that's nice, someone's saved me some work if I want to
justify their use to management. If they're not watered down to the
lowest common denominator for the ignorant masses, I'm OK with
that. It's not the "dust bin of programming history", it's just the
road less travelled.

        Tim

--
The idea that an arbitrary naive human should be able to properly use
a given tool without training or understanding is even more wrong for
computing than it is for other tools (e.g. automobiles, airplanes,
guns, power saws).  -- Doug Gwyn