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

[Delaney, Timothy]

> From: Pascal Costanza [mailto:costanza at web.de]
> 
> Meiner Meinung nach hängt das im wesentlichen immer davon ab, welche 
> Sprache man zuerst gelernt hat, oder welche man am häufigsten benutzt.
> 
> If you don't understand this, would you consider German to be less 
> readable than English? (Run that sentence through 
> http://babelfish.altavista.com to get my point. ;)

Having been involved in these debates before, I now try to avoid them
(except when trying to get Python used on a project ;)

However, you measure readability by how readable something is at comparable
skill levels. So if I were fluent in both German and English (I'm not),
*and* you had provided the English version (not necessarily a direct
translation, but the equivalent meaning) then I could make a judgement. If I
had no fluency in either, I could not make a meaningful judgement.

Likewise, the readability of Lisp vs Python can be determined at various
skill levels. The most masic skill level is no fluency in either language,
but fluency in English. At such a level, Python definitely is most readable
(even someone who has neve seen Python code before can make some sense of
Python code - the same cannot be said for Lisp). Another skill level is
"expert" in both languages. I don't claim to be expert in Lisp - I have a
passing familiarity with it, and so cannot judge. But I suspect that for an
expert in *both* languages, Python is still more readable, even when Lisp is
nicely formatted.

Tim Delaney