Julia is an attempt at the best of all worlds: - It is functional (including lisp-like macro programming) but has a strict type system along with multiple disp

Julia is an attempt at the best of all worlds: - It is functional (including lisp-like macro programming) but has a strict type system along with multiple dispatch, which effectively allows for OOP constructs. - It allows for dynamic typing but since it is JIT compiled using LLVM, you can specify static types for variables and thus take advantage of lots of smart optimisation. - There is garbage collection but also the ability to get right in there and reach into pointers and memory-allocation manually. It's truly a pleasure to work with once you appreciate what's possible.