Re:Show HN: A star map creation tool with Common Lisp
by lispm on Thursday June 20, 2019 @01:52PM
(#20235375)
Lisp has actually lots of structure, but it is expressed in lists. You need to see past the list, guided by symbols, blocks and indentation.
It's a bit like bicycle riding or learning to drive a car: while you are starting out and still thinking too much, it feels difficult. Once one has trained enough, one can read Lisp code quite fluently.
But there are pitfalls: the code might need to stay in the typical standard conventions for style. One CAN go in Lisp way be beyond standard code, reprogram the language -> it can get arbitrarily difficult to understand the code and may require learning new ways to program... but there are some expressive languages which have the same problem.
It's a bit like bicycle riding or learning to drive a car: while you are starting out and still thinking too much, it feels difficult. Once one has trained enough, one can read Lisp code quite fluently.
But there are pitfalls: the code might need to stay in the typical standard conventions for style. One CAN go in Lisp way be beyond standard code, reprogram the language -> it can get arbitrarily difficult to understand the code and may require learning new ways to program... but there are some expressive languages which have the same problem.