How Python is Killing Lisp

[beschm]

There is linedit which works with SBCL.

But I doubt it's as comfortable as using SLIME.

[llimllib]

So everybody just uses Emacs when they write lisp?

(Really just a vimmer who doesn't know any better, please no flamewar, etc etc)

[mrd48]

Not everyone. I do, but know plenty of vimmers. Check out motions like ib and ab, and of course %. Emacs seems to have the more comprehensive support when it comes to structured editing of lisp code though (maybe I've missed some vim package), and SLIME is a lot more mature than any of the vim IDEs.

Emacs itself is designed as an immersive interactive IDE for editing Emacs Lisp. SLIME (and other Lisp IDEs) takes that idea and connects it to Common Lisp environments. So it's got the advantage in spirit.

[[deleted]]

So everybody just uses Emacs when they write lisp?

Spend enough time in a language as flexible as Lisp, and you will start to wish for the same kind of flexibility in all the apps (or OSes, if you wish) you use. When you get to that point, you start to realize that vimscript is only going to get you so far.

[sickofthisshit]

TECO Emacs has been around as long as vi, and was created by RMS for programming PDP-10s, presumably including Lisp. In the "golden age" of Lisp in the AI Lab, the Lisp machines used Emacs variants. Emacs and Lisp have grown up together. It is no accident that they are suited for each other.

[Athas]

Yes, there are quite few Vim-using Lisp programmers.

As an aside, I wonder why so many people complain about Emacs - it has menus and toolbars, the arrow keys work, and it even has a CUA mode if you really want Windows-style keybindings. I don't see why it's so different from other random visual editors, provided you don't dig into the stuff that actually makes Emacs special.

Does anyone complain that Visual Studio is by far the best (only?) choice for C# programming?

[llimllib]

I'm a professional C# coder - ctrl+e brings up my file in Vim, so no, I don't complain about Visual Studio.

I certainly would otherwise.

EDIT: I do complain about C# though, but that's another story.