merits of Lisp vs Python

[tayssir.john at googlemail.com]

Aahz wrote:
> I would say that your statement about Lisp syntax is wrong.  Not that it
> is technically inaccurate, but that it completely misses the point, so
> much so that it is wrong to say it.  One of the key goals of Python is
> readability, and while it is indeed easy to learn the rules for Lisp
> syntax, observational experience indicates that many people (perhaps even
> the vast majority of people) find it difficult to learn to read Lisp
> programs.

I think this holds true for experienced programmers, who often report a
difficult unlearning process with Lisp. However, for people without
preconceptions, the difference is likely less -- after all, many have
painful memories of poorly-taught math and computer classes in school.
So Python's similarity to gradeschool math may not be such a plus.

Richard Stallman explained about a Lisp variant:

"Multics Emacs proved to be a great success -- programming new editing
commands was so convenient that even the secretaries in his office
started learning how to use it. They used a manual someone had written
which showed how to extend Emacs, but didn't say it was a programming.
So the secretaries, who believed they couldn't do programming, weren't
scared off. They read the manual, discovered they could do useful
things and they learned to program."
<http://www.gnu.org/gnu/rms-lisp.html>

But of course this is anecdotal evidence.


> Consider this: Lisp has had years of development, it has had millions of
> dollars thrown at it by VC firms -- and yet Python is winning over Lisp
> programmers.  Think about it.

Even now, Lisp still contains radical concepts (as in latin's radix
meaning "root"), and overly radical ideas tend not to dominate in the
marketplace. So we see an incremental progression towards Lisp ideas.

Guy Steele, a central figure in Java, claimed:

"And you're right: we were not out to win over the Lisp programmers; we
were after the C++ programmers.  We managed to drag a lot of them about
halfway to Lisp.  Aren't you happy?"
<http://people.csail.mit.edu/gregs/ll1-discuss-archive-html/msg04045.html>

But speaking of the marketplace, there's at least one Lisp company
sustaining itself by asking for a cut of its customers' revenues... The
last Lisp implementation I used "merely" asked for thousands per head
per platform. ;)


(Personally, I used Python before being aware of Lisp. Now I use Common
Lisp all the time, though I will recommend Python when I consider it
more appropriate. A few months ago, I missed the Condition System most
when using Python, and also lexical scope. However, it is nice to work
with friends, who know Python and not Lisp.)


Tayssir