Why is Python popular, while Lisp and Scheme aren't?

[Kenny Tilton]

maney at pobox.com wrote:
> Courageous <jkraska at san.rr.com> wrote:
> 
>>One of Lisp's _lethal_ failings is that anyone not using Emacs (or
>>something like Emacs) is a second class citizen. The decision to
>>require a programmer to use a special editor is a fatal one.
> 
> 
> But perhaps an unavoidable one.

I have been doing CL nonstop for seven years and have yet to learn 
Emacs, tho I /did/ use MCLs emacs-like editor and I do have ACLs editor 
in "Emacs mode". But this just has to do with the key combos being the 
same, not the whole nine yards. and with acl i do not even have to do 
emacs mode.

No matter what Lisp IDE you use (LW, ACL, Corman, MCL) you'll get a 
Lisp-aware editor, the way IDLE is Python-aware.

> I have never before seen the true reason
> Lisp's annoying parentheses-plagued syntax has persisted, let alone why
> it might be worth putting up with.

If you ever get out of the starting blocks, the parentheses will 
disappear (but make editing much easier). Python code looks nice and 
clean thx to the indentation thang, but Lisp code is self-indenting thx 
to the parens. ie, I can select as big a function I like and just say 
re-indent, and I'm done. And because Lisp is self indenting, when i hit 
tab (telling it to reindent that line, not insert a tab) I can see at 
one if I have typed too few or not enough parens. This happens rarely 
because any matching parens is highlighted after I type a parens, so I 
just look around if I lose track or get way deep into an expression and 
need several parens to get out.

The bottom line is that no regular Lisper is bothered by parens and in 
fact we all prefer them thanks to their facilitation of editing chunks 
of code (by double-clicking a form of any size).


-- 

  kenny tilton
  clinisys, inc
  ---------------------------------------------------------------
""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