Newsgroups: comp.lang.lisp
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From: vanyo@ibcco.com (Bill Vanyo)
Subject: Re: no more lisp!
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Date: Fri, 15 Mar 1996 14:15:46 GMT
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boaz@usa.pipeline.com(Boaz Chow) wrote:

>hey guys!  Lisp is old.  it is the second computer language developed by
>that "Cant-Talk-So-Well" british professor.  The only thing that is special
>about lisp is the LIST.  Newer languages can all do LIST and even more. 

Newer languages have lists as DATA, but an essential feature of LISP
is that PROGRAMS and DATA are both lists.  There is no fundamental
difference between program and data.

>So, what's the use? 

Personally, I find LISP the easiest language to quickly code certain
kinds of programs.  For instance, writing programs that solve puzzles
for me -- programs that I will run once and throw away.  Or
experimenting with various algorithms, just to get  an answer, without
having to do a lot of 'engineering' in defining my data structures.

Also, it's BEAUTIFUL!

Pick your favorite language.  Now write a program in that language
which will run other programs in that language.  Feel free to choose a
subset of the language, but use only that subset to write the program
which will run other programs written with tht same subset.  Of
course, the subset should be 'turing-complete', i.e. it should allow
you to do all the computations the whole language can.

In LISP, you can write a program in less than a page which will run
other LISP programs.  Try that in C.

(Prolog also has these qualities, but it's of another flavor
altogether)

> 
>Oh!  one interesting thing is that lisp is pretty well encapsulated it's
>process.  and then those guys who got only C in their computer classes
>developed C and others developed other Structural languages.  that's meant
>no more pretty encapsulation.  But now, thing is going back.  We have
>visical this and visical that. 
> 
>Do you thing this is interesting? 
> 
> 
>On Mar 15, 1996 18:51:04 in article <Re: no more lisp!>, 'Mark McConnell
><mmcconn@math.okstate.edu>' wrote: 
> 
> 
>>boaz@usa.pipeline.com(Boaz Chow) wrote: 
>>>hahaha!  class is over!  no more lisp!!!  
>>>  
>>>no more (((((( and that )))))))!!!  
>>>  
>>>haahaha!!  
>>>--  
>>>   ______   Meow  
>>>   \ OO /  _/   
>>>  :(__ =)  
>>>    U \\  
>>>http://www.sci.csupomona.edu/~cchow 
>> 
>>Ha ha ha!  Class is over!  No more C!!! 
>> 
>>{see? 
>>input(hee hee hee) 
>>{nested Whee!}} 
>> 
>>Help [pant pant]  ...*Help* me!!!...  [gasp]  I can't walk.  I'm an 
>>overloaded operator. 
>> 
>>How anyone can say "stdio.h" is more congenial than ( ) ? 
>> 
>-- 
>   ______   Meow 
>   \ OO /  _/  
>  :(__ =) 
>    U \\ 
>http://www.sci.csupomona.edu/~cchow


