Hi all, On Dec 28 2006, 4:51 pm, "Paddy3118" <[EMAIL PROTECTED]> wrote: > This month there was/is a 1000+ long thread called: > "merits of Lisp vs Python" > In comp.lang.lisp. > > If you followed even parts of the thread, AND previously > used only one of the languages AND (and this is the > crucial bit), were persuaded to have a more positive view > of the other language;
I sort of fall into this category. I'm a Java developer by trade, but use Python for all of my non-work related projects, and any scripting I need at work. I hadn't looked at Lisp. I've been tempted a few times to look more into Lisp, especially after reading some of Paul Graham's stuff which has a strong bias toward Lisp. The thread gave me a kick start into looking into Lisp more deeply, and over the Christmas break I downloaded CLisp and ordered a couple of Lisp books. There were no arguments that persuaded me particularly - more curiosity about a few of the concepts that were bandied about: a) Closures - and what they give you that Python co-routines don't. b) Macros - how they can be used, and what advantages they give you. They were the real persuasion points for me. So far? After a bit of pain getting started and finding decent docs (while waiting for the books to arrive) I've found the language quite easy to use. I haven't got into closures or macros yet - I need to get more familiar with the basics first, but first impressions are favorable. It seems that there is nothing conceptually in Python that I can't reasonably easily do in Lisp, but the Python syntax is much more straightforward for most of the basics I think (such as dictionaries, sets, list comprehensions etc), and the function/naming conventions for the core language is much clearer and more obvious than in Lisp. -- http://mail.python.org/mailman/listinfo/python-list
