Python syntax in Lisp and Scheme

[Paul Rubin]

Kenny Tilton <ktilton at nyc.rr.com> writes:
> I think Python's problem is its success. Whenever something is
> succesful, the first thing people want is more features. Hell, that is
> how you know it is a success. The BDFL still talks about simplicity,
> but that is history. GvR, IMHO, should chased wish-listers away with
> "use Lisp" and kept his gem small and simple.

That's silly.  Something being successful means people want to use it
to get things done in the real world.  At that point they start
needing the tools that other languages provide for dealing with the
real world.  The real world is not a small and simple place, and small
simple systems are not always enough to cope with it.  If GVR had kept
his gem small and simple, it would have remained an academic toy, and
I think he had wide-reaching ambitions than that.