Aahz wrote: > In article <[EMAIL PROTECTED]>, > Mark Tarver <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > >>I'm looking at Python and I see that the syntax would appeal to a >>newbie. Its clearer than ML which is a mess syntactically. But I >>don't see where the action is in Python. Not yet anyway. Lisp syntax >>is easy to learn. And giving up an order of magnitude is a high price >>to pay for using it over Lisp. > > > Speaking as someone who had been programming for more than twenty years > before learning Python (including a brief gander at Lisp), and also > referring to many years of observations of newcomers to Python: Python's > syntax also appeals to experienced programmers. > > 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.
No programming language is easy to read, and no Lisp programmer stopped using Lisp because they had been using it for a month and just could not get used to reading it. So I think you are just making things up. :) > 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. Haha, what's the score? And how much time is left in the first quarter? :) ken -- Algebra: http://www.tilton-technology.com/LispNycAlgebra1.htm "Well, I've wrestled with reality for thirty-five years, Doctor, and I'm happy to state I finally won out over it." -- Elwood P. Dowd "I'll say I'm losing my grip, and it feels terrific." -- Smiling husband to scowling wife, New Yorker cartoon -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
