3 ms·
I don't know about Swift but equating a REPL to interactivity is a horrible disservice to Lisp (and Smalltalk). For example, Python has a REPL but it is not v
by PuercoPop 12y ago
I don't know about Swift but equating a REPL to interactivity is a horrible disservice to Lisp (and Smalltalk).
For example, Python has a REPL but it is not very well suited for interactive programming. For example Python does not handle you redefining a module after you import it without some voodoo. Nor it has forward references. For example in Lisp I can define a method that especialices on a class I haven't yet defined. Or define a function that calls function B which I will define later in the code. Nor have I seen something akin the slime Inspector and presentations, which are not quite there as the Symbolics Genera environment for interactive programming
- wes-exp 12y agoExcellent point. I found myself struggling to describe Lisp in terms that non-Lispers would understand (blub paradox I guess), and I figured almost everyone knows what a REPL is. You're absolutely right that a REPL itself is just scratching the surface, and there is all kinds of interactivity beyond that.