logoalt Hacker News

mrkeen • today at 7:08 AM • 2 replies • view on HN

Let's look at what TFA actually says:

  Let’s be honest: Lisp is a language designed by and for elite hackers, not for the masses.
What do other people say about other languages?

  Python is best for novice coders, machine learning, and versatility.  [https://www.boot.dev/blog/python/c-sharp-vs-python]

  Golang: Simpler and minimalistic language with fewer features, making it easier for beginners and experienced developers to learn and use effectively.  [https://charleswan111.medium.com/java-vs-golang-a-comparative-insight-into-usage-performance-and-industry-preferences-533a24013230]

  JavaScript is also considered to be more user-friendly and easier to learn than C++.  [https://www.c-sharpcorner.com/blogs/cpp-vs-javascript-programming]
If one is allowed to compare apples and oranges, then surely one is allowed to compare oranges and apples.

Replies

aidenn0 • today at 6:37 PM

JavaScript has many (most?) of the language features that were cited as making Lisp "for the elite" when I was first learning programming. It also has a few that would have been considered esoteric (prototypal inheritence and async come to mind)

TurboHaskal • today at 7:41 AM

I was really put off by the description of "elite" but if there are indeed languages that claim to be optimized for the experience of newcomers, there are also languages that take the opposite side and optimize for the ergonomics of people who spend a lot of time with it. Perl, C++ and Common Lisp definitely come to mind.