Python syntax in Lisp and Scheme

[prunesquallor at comcast.net]

Pascal Bourguignon <spam at thalassa.informatimago.com> writes:

> prunesquallor at comcast.net writes:
>> [...]
>> I thought that whitespace was significant to Python.
>> 
>> My computer does not display whitespace.  I understand that most
>> computers do not.  There are few fonts that have glyphs at the space
>> character.
>> 
>> Since having the correct amount of whitespace is *vital* to the
>> correct operation of a Python program, it seems that the task of
>> maintaining it is made that much more difficult because it is only
>> conspicuous by its absence.
>
> :-)
>
> That remembers me that when  the languages had significant spaces, the
> programming was  done with forms, sheets of  physical paper preprinted
> with empty spaces:
>
>
> |_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
>  1           7        12
>
> |_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
>  1           7        12
>
> |_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
>  1           7        12
>
> |_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
>  1           7        12
>
> |_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
>  1           7        12
>
> |_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
>  1           7        12
>
> |_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
>  1           7        12
>
> |_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|_|
>  1           7        12
>
> and you could then fill the blanks and have the significant spaces and
> columns nicely visualized.
>
> I assume  python editors now  show this kind  of form as  a background
> bitmap, don't they.

The Lisp Machine had a visual Hollerith editor.