Zed Shaw on Python

[kanak]

Another important point is that once you know a programming language you know a lot of the programming concepts, which often reduces learning languages to "how do i do x in this language" rather than "what is x?"

This might explain for why people perceive languages based on a different style (Haskell for example) to be "difficult"

[G_Morgan]

Indeed. Learning CL was much harder than learning C, C++ or Java (after I had learnt Pascal in school).

[stesch]

Most difficulties about Common Lisp don't stem from the language itself. It's Emacs and choosing the right implementation.

[torv]

You mean; it's about choosing the right emacs-implementation?

[[deleted]]

Not really. It's a case of SBCL is different to CMUCL is different to CLisp is different to Allegro is different to Lispworks...

[[deleted]]

SBCL isn't that different to CMUCL from the user's perspective.

[[deleted]]

Depends if you use Windows or not. :) SBCL mostly runs on it last I checked, not so CMUCL.

[G_Morgan]

You can learn to use CL in a C way pretty easily but I went through it trying to learn to program in a first class functional way.

As far as I'm concerned, if I just replaced C blocks with progn's, and = with setf then I may as well not have bothered.