3 ms·
I didn't downvote you but the only significant advantage of the lisp syntax is macros. I was always under the impression that the syntax is a price for macros.
by RivieraKid 13y ago
I didn't downvote you but the only significant advantage of the lisp syntax is macros. I was always under the impression that the syntax is a price for macros. If macros aren't really used, I don't see reasons for the lisp syntax.
- kaoD 13y agoMacros are frowned-upon but used when necessary. To put an analogy: people would've disgusted if you used a life jacket for no good reason, but they're handy when you really need them :) I also like Lisp syntax regardless of macros, mainly because it's simple, consistent and prefix notation is really handy. The S-expr abstraction IS useful when dealing with code blocks (see https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5940620 https://news.ycombinator.com/item?id=5940620)
- RivieraKid 13y agoBrainfuck syntax is even simpler and more consistent ;)
- kaoD 13y agoIf Brainfuck syntax was half as powerful as powerful as S-expressions that would be a valid comparison.
- dktbs 13y agoI would argue that s-expressions are powerful for reasons other than macros, but I agree that the prefix notation and boatloads of parentheses can initially require a lot of extra effort for no apparent payoff. When I began writing clojure code (in vim) this was a constant source of frustration for me. The paredit.vim plugin [https://github.com/vim-scripts/paredit.vim https://github.com/vim-scripts/paredit.vim] made things much easier and led me to give emacs a serious try. Writing lisp in an editor with paredit is a magical feeling. It turns the onion of parentheses into a structure that you can navigate and modify without having to worry about keeping things balanced. For me, this has made the parens effectively disappear from my focus.