> "Can't" is not at issue here - with enough effort, anyone can do just about anything. The question is whether it's actually worth the effort. Perhaps I shoul

> "Can't" is not at issue here - with enough effort, anyone can do just about anything. The question is whether it's actually worth the effort. Perhaps I should have said "with little effort", then. If you can't setup a system with just little effort, you are not skilled enough as a programmer. See, Ewjordan, I understand your frustration. I've had my share with setting up "newbie-hostile" systems, and you know what? As a consequence, I now understand better how things work, and I can setup whatever system faster. I have "graduated" from Ubuntu to Debian user, I now use Emacs as my only editor, and so on. Little improvements... Still learning. Oh, and I'm faster at tracking down and fix issues which I or my coworkers stumble upon. > A smart programmer will pick whichever one gets up and running the quickest so that he can actually see what coding is like in that language, as opposed to configuring/installing/compiling sources/tracking down a supported version/etc. Would we really call her a smart programmer? A street-wise programmer maybe. Being such a programmer could be your goal? That's fine. Have fun and make a lot of money. I think a really smart programmer will pick the language which will pay more dividends in the long run. Kind of choosing a Vim clone over a regular editor. > Why waste time doing all that stuff when if you just hop to the next language over you can have it all for free? Because not all language are created equal and you sometime have to choose between fighting the system in the beginning and fighting the language in the long run. Of course, you'll have an hear for practical considerations too. For instance, I'm currently learning Common Lisp over Scheme because even if I like Scheme better, CL has a wider user base and a proven track record. > But then again, I've never gotten the sense that the CL folks actually want more people using it I agree. Most of them don't seem interested. And I think I understand why. CLers are an old community and a lot of newbies jumped in, whined about things not working and left. Their hears are full. However, if you ask for help and ask for it smartly, you'll get answers, you'll - you won't believe this! - you'll get even code written for you. P.S.: Sorry, but I don't have time to review this post. Bye.