Why don't people like lisp?

[mike420 at ziplip.com]

Kaz Kylheku wrote:

> "Andrew Dalke" <adalke at mindspring.com> wrote in message
> news:<64Ilb.1525$I04.1503 at newsread4.news.pas.earthlink.net>...
>
>> 
>> Did you look at my example doing just that?  I built
>> an AST for Python and converted it into a normal function.


Andrew, 

If you are talking about your stack-based language, you had something
like

"5 3 + b *"

Now, can you replace "3" with a Python expression, like
"5 ( 3 + input() )  + b *" ? I don't think so. You'd have to change your
whole parser at least, and even after that I'm not sure if you could do 
this.

IIRC, in Erann's Lisp version, you can. You can just write
`(5 ,(+ 3 read) + b *)   instead of '(5 3 + b *) . That's what we mean
by mixing different languages in one. 


> I'm looking for a Python example which adds a new kind of statement to
> the language, and then later in the source file uses that statement to
> write a part of the program, such that it's all processed in the same
> pass. 

Did they already give an example like this without the "same source
file" requirement? ...

> The statement can be nested in existing ones, and can have
> existing syntax embedded in it. Oh yeah, and it should work on at
> least two Python implementations.

.. in just the official CPython? I'm sorry, I must have missed it.

420

P.S. This is a very silly thread subject (but I'll keep it).
We all know *why* people do not like Lisp. It's the parens!
But don't take my word for it: I like Lisp. Ask almost anyone who doesn't!