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AST = Abstract Syntax Tree. " ... manipulate AST ... " Interesting thought, but that's not a property of a language per se but a function of the IDE.

• psyc 9y ago
  I am talking about IDEs.
• hashkb 9y ago
  Except for editing lisp, which manipulating the AST directly in code.
  • aninhumer 9y ago
    Not really. The AST in lisps is much more obvious, but you're still editing a text serialisation format, and any features that operate on the AST itself are provided by the IDE on top of that.
    • swsieber 9y ago
      Indeed. Any AST in binary format is going to give version control some trouble since those seem best suited for text formats.
    • TeMPOraL 9y ago
      There is no "concrete" AST that's not a "serialization format". A binary AST is also a serialization of AST. Lisp source is pretty much as close to AST as you can get while still staying in text-land. That said, experienced Lisp developers often use tools like Paredit mode that let them navigate and edit the code in terms of tree nodes, not characters.
    • hashkb 9y ago
      Macros operate on the AST at compile and run time, without any support from the IDE.