merits of Lisp vs Python

[Ken Tilton]

Paul Rubin wrote:
> Ken Tilton <kentilton at gmail.com> writes:
> 
>>btw, you called the defskill messy (repeated below) "messy". The only
>>text not specific to absolute value is D-E-F-S-K-I-L-L.
> 
> 
> No, the messiness was not in the macro instantation (defskill blah...),
> but in the defmacro that tells the compiler how to expand it.

Again, that is precisely the point of macrology (in cases like this). 
When a pattern will repeat a sufficient number of times, and a function 
cannot handle the job, we do a little extra work (write some meta-code) 
to make dozens (or hundreds) of applications as minimalist as possible.

That makes them concise, readable, and maintainable.

>  Python
> function defs are lightweight enough that I don't experience a big pain
> from using an extra one for a thing like that.

Check out the latest, plz. The example has grown now beyond what a 
function can do, I think. meanwhile, I have not seen how Python lets you 
avoid revisiting dozens of instances when changes to a mechanism are 
required.

ken

-- 
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