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

[Brad Hards]

-----BEGIN PGP SIGNED MESSAGE-----
Hash: SHA1

On Sat, 9 Nov 2002 11:53, Carl Banks wrote:
> Oleg wrote:
> > Hi
> >
> > I don't know much about Python, but I looked at this comparison
> > between Python and Common Lisp (
> > http://www.norvig.com/python-lisp.html ), and I couldn't help but
> > wonder why Python is popular, while Common Lisp and Scheme aren't?
>
> As cool as Lisp is, it is too low-level, too hard to learn, too
> weird-looking, and way too different from C (at all levels) to gain
> much popularity.
I don't think that this is it. 

If "low-level", "hard to learn" and "too weird looking" were real problems, 
then C wouldn't be popular.

The real reasons that languages become popular are:
1. Availability of teaching resources and materials (affects usage in teaching 
institutions, and vaguely related places, such as universities). Includes 
teacher familiarity.
2. Availability of useful tools, especially libraries (affects design choices 
based on programmer productivity). Also includes development environments.
3. Usage in prior products (affects maintenance costs).
4. Ability to interface with bespoke infrastructure (especially web services 
and databases)
5. Community support.
and perhaps:
6. Performance.

If anyone has an example of a language that is popuilar without any of those 
characteristics, I'd be interested.

I am not familiar with Lisp, but I perceive that it has problems with 2,3,4 
and 5. Python only has problems with 3 (and perhaps 1).

I'm not really familiar with Perl either, but I think Python is better at 5 - 
I'm certainly amazed at the tolerance people have for questions that are 
readily answered in a number of on-line tutorials, and in both the Python 
books that I have (Learning Python and the Python Cookbook). In the end, the 
friendly attitude may be the killer feature.

Brad
- -- 
http://linux.conf.au. 22-25Jan2003. Perth, Aust. I'm registered. Are you?
-----BEGIN PGP SIGNATURE-----
Version: GnuPG v1.0.6 (GNU/Linux)
Comment: For info see http://www.gnupg.org

iD8DBQE9zvuHW6pHgIdAuOMRAm4SAJ0dwuCQC/4CI4ux0RGlj4yLqi5KCACgk+7q
6Hbqs/peVqvY8jBhfB5ZgrE=
=+FDC
-----END PGP SIGNATURE-----