Lisp-Stat (or XLispStat) didn't just use Lisp syntax, it was a Lisp. I've used XLispStat, S-PLUS (a commercial version or R), and SAS. SAS had the most compr

Lisp-Stat (or XLispStat) didn't just use Lisp syntax, it was a Lisp. I've used XLispStat, S-PLUS (a commercial version or R), and SAS. SAS had the most comprehensive statistical libraries, but I never liked the language. I liked xlispstat but the statistical libraries weren't as good as those of SAS or S-PLUS. For data mining, I settled for S-PLUS, which was sufficiently lispy, and had a REPL. So it wasn't just the syntax (or lack of it). Beyond being dynamically typed and having a REPL, Python isn't particularly Lispy: it's less functional, and it has no (linked) lists or symbols. It's quicker to develop in than most of the non-Lisp alternatives, though.