Python advocacy

[Bijan Parsia]

Patrick Phalen <python-list at teleo.net> wrote:

> [Neel Krishnaswami, on Sat, 04 Mar 2000]
> :: Quinn Dunkan <quinn at mono.ugcs.caltech.edu> wrote:
> :: > On Sat, 4 Mar 2000 00:37:06 -0500, Bijan Parsia <bparsia at email.unc.edu>
> :: > wrote:
> :: > >And poor Dylan, which sold it's soul to mixfix only to be doomed to
> :: > >obscurity, in the general world, and scorn from its progeniters.
> :: 
> :: > Guess it would help if I knew what mixfix was...
> :: 
> :: Not really; he just means Algolish (Algolic? Algolaceous?) syntax,
> 
> I think he's referring to Dylan Thomas, who was a hopeless Algolholic
> and cooC addict, who was known to mix his fixes.

This is about the funniest, cleverest thing I've read in at least a
week. I was dying!

(To add some content: My Dylan "slam" was a joke. Dylan started out with
a Lispy syntax (and if you want a Lispy Dylanish thing, try RScheme) but
then converted to a Pascalish one as a marketing move akin to how Paul
described Python in relation to Smalltalk (and if you can parse *that*,
you'll have no trouble with mere Dylan syntax ;)). Thereupon, a slew of
Lispy Dylan folks cried "Herasy herasy" and went back to mucking with
Common Lisp :) Dylan seems to have survived Harliquin's sale, although
it's still a bit too soon to tell. Apple's dumping of it, however, did
kill it's best shot at a building a substantial constituacy it's had,
and, as far as I can see, will have for quite a while. However, it's a
pretty darn nifty langauge, and I rather suspect that most Pythoners
might find it a bit more congenial than Common Lisp.)

Cheers,
Bijan Parsia.