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It's definitely good enough for Google: https://lisp-journey.gitlab.io/blog/yes-google-develops-common-lisp/ https://lisp-journey.gitlab.io/blog/yes-google-deve

by mepian 3y ago

It's definitely good enough for Google: https://lisp-journey.gitlab.io/blog/yes-google-develops-common-lisp/ https://lisp-journey.gitlab.io/blog/yes-google-develops-comm...

dietrichepp 3y ago
ITA software is an acquisition, and I’m sure most of the Lisp development at Google is just done by engineers tweaking their .emacs files. The problem of parsing data from airlines is fiendishly hard. There are a ton of different rules for how to calculate prices, and all sorts of deals and promotions that may affect a particular route on a particular day. If you have a system which can parse this data, then you wouldn’t want to rewrite it. I’ve read a number of articles about ITA Software’s Lisp code and it’s really interesting. Lisp may be a critical part of ITA’s success, but “good enough for Google” is probably the wrong take here—Google, I’m sure, purchased a company to add its working product to their portfolio. I doubt that Google’s processes would allow someone to ale a new product in Lisp.
- mepian 3y ago
  I meant SBCL specifically, not Common Lisp in general. They could have been using LispWorks or Allegro CL instead, but they aren't.
- celaleddin 3y ago
  Can you share some of the articles you mentioned about ITA Software's Lisp code?
  - dietrichepp 3y ago
    Keep in mind that the information is old. http://www.paulgraham.com/carl.html http://www.paulgraham.com/carl.html I’ve read other stories, and seen presentations, but the information is getting harder to find.
danielam 3y ago
Realistically, "good enough for Google" is probably largely an accident of acquisition. QPX, the low airfare search engine, is not exactly a small piece of software. In c. 2007, it consisted of about 1 million lines of code divided unevenly between Common Lisp and C++, which, by then, had been developed for roughly a decade for the airline industry. Rewriting it would have been a non-trivial task. Furthermore, Carl de Marcken, chief scientist/co-founder of ITA, had chosen Lisp because it was what he was most familiar with. He had told me in 2007 that if he had to choose a language again, he probably would have chosen Java, a choice Google would likely favor over Lisp. I say this not to disparage Lisp—I enjoy Lisps, and I use Lisp professionally—but to contextualize this particular use of Lisp at Google. EDIT: Just saw your reply to a sibling comment explaining that you meant SBCL, not Lisp per se.
- mepian 3y ago
  See my other comment in this subthread.

by mepian 3y ago

It's definitely good enough for Google: https://lisp-journey.gitlab.io/blog/yes-google-develops-common-lisp/ https://lisp-journey.gitlab.io/blog/yes-google-develops-comm...

dietrichepp 3y ago

ITA software is an acquisition, and I’m sure most of the Lisp development at Google is just done by engineers tweaking their .emacs files. The problem of parsing data from airlines is fiendishly hard. There are a ton of different rules for how to calculate prices, and all sorts of deals and promotions that may affect a particular route on a particular day. If you have a system which can parse this data, then you wouldn’t want to rewrite it. I’ve read a number of articles about ITA Software’s Lisp code and it’s really interesting. Lisp may be a critical part of ITA’s success, but “good enough for Google” is probably the wrong take here—Google, I’m sure, purchased a company to add its working product to their portfolio. I doubt that Google’s processes would allow someone to ale a new product in Lisp.

mepian 3y ago
I meant SBCL specifically, not Common Lisp in general. They could have been using LispWorks or Allegro CL instead, but they aren't.
celaleddin 3y ago
Can you share some of the articles you mentioned about ITA Software's Lisp code?
- dietrichepp 3y ago
  Keep in mind that the information is old. http://www.paulgraham.com/carl.html http://www.paulgraham.com/carl.html I’ve read other stories, and seen presentations, but the information is getting harder to find.

danielam 3y ago

Realistically, "good enough for Google" is probably largely an accident of acquisition. QPX, the low airfare search engine, is not exactly a small piece of software. In c. 2007, it consisted of about 1 million lines of code divided unevenly between Common Lisp and C++, which, by then, had been developed for roughly a decade for the airline industry. Rewriting it would have been a non-trivial task. Furthermore, Carl de Marcken, chief scientist/co-founder of ITA, had chosen Lisp because it was what he was most familiar with. He had told me in 2007 that if he had to choose a language again, he probably would have chosen Java, a choice Google would likely favor over Lisp. I say this not to disparage Lisp—I enjoy Lisps, and I use Lisp professionally—but to contextualize this particular use of Lisp at Google. EDIT: Just saw your reply to a sibling comment explaining that you meant SBCL, not Lisp per se.

mepian 3y ago
See my other comment in this subthread.