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They are both very different, technically, but culturally they are very similar. Both of them are extremely simple and build complex programs from a few fundame
by yiyus 8y ago
They are both very different, technically, but culturally they are very similar. Both of them are extremely simple and build complex programs from a few fundamental principles. Both of them are disengaged from the more mainstream languages. Both of them broaden your perspectives as a programmer. Both of them have excellent books that were written a long time ago but are still relevant today. Both of them gave rise to specialized hardware (stack computers and Lisp machines). Both of them encourage you to write your own interpreter when you are learning them... Although both languages are very different, learning one or the other actually is a quite similar experience.
- kazinator 8y agoForth is actually disengaged from mainstream languages; Lisp being disengaged from mainstream languages is just a meme believed by some non-Lisp programmers (something to do with those parentheses). Basic Lisp is very similar to mainstream languages in the Algol family. Lisp dialects usually have nested block structure, with local variables that can be assigned, functions with formal parameters with ordinary by-value argument passing and so on. Javascript is a mainstream language and has strong ties to Lisp, much more so than to Forth. Python is more closely related to Lisp than to Forth. C is more closely related to Lisp than to Forth. Java is more closely related to Lisp than to Forth ....