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Re: Resources to learn common lisp?

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  Re: Resources to learn common lisp? Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-07-31 22:46 +0000
    Re: Resources to learn common lisp? tfb <tfb@work.it.out> - 2026-08-01 09:08 +0000
      Re: Resources to learn common lisp? Paul <nospam@needed.invalid> - 2026-08-01 07:49 -0400
        Re: Resources to learn common lisp? Lawrence D’Oliveiro <ldo@nz.invalid> - 2026-08-01 23:37 +0000
          Re: Resources to learn common lisp? "Chris M. Thomasson" <chris.m.thomasson.1@gmail.com> - 2026-08-01 16:54 -0700
        Re: Resources to learn common lisp? tfb <tfb@work.it.out> - 2026-08-02 07:39 +0000
      Re: Resources to learn common lisp? steve g <Sgonedes1977@gmail.com> - 2026-08-04 22:39 -0400

#197844 — Re: Resources to learn common lisp?

On Fri, 31 Jul 2026 12:21:51 -0300, Anton Antimo wrote:

> Johann 'Myrkraverk' Oskarsson <johann@myrkraverk.invalid> writes:
>
>> The tragedy is not using Common Lisp for everything.
>
> I loved this bit and I have a feeling you're correct.

What a dumb idea. Common Lisp is full of legacy baggage to cater to
proprietary pre-POSIX OSes which are now extinct.

Python can offer basic facilities like these in its standard library:
<https://docs.python.org/3/library/subprocess.html>
<https://docs.python.org/3/library/select.html>; where are the Common
Lisp equivalents?

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#197849

It is 2042.  A dry wind blows over a desolate landscape, raising flurries
of dust from the burnt ground.  Feral dogs, tumours proliferating on their
skin, pick through the debris, raking through yellow bones in the hope of
rats.  In the distance the remains of a city, a city whose name will soon
be remembered by nobody.  Some of the buildings appear curiously melted.

A structure made of corrugated iron, rusting, deformed panels torn from
some vehicle, and papier mâché.  A turbine atop a tower made partly of
garden furniture, creaking in the wind.  A collection of car batteries.

In the shed a thin figure crouches: ragged clothes and open sores.  He
types at a keyboard, poking a stick into the switches of the missing keys. 
The screen is cracked and dim.

The camera's eye moves, we can see, barely, the text on the screen.

> PYTHON IS THE ONLY TRUE SOLUTION PYTHON HAS BEEN THE BEST THE ONLY
> LANGUAGE FOR CENTURIES REFERENCE COUNTING WILL NOT CORRUPT YOUR PRECIOUS
> BODILY FLUIDS GARBAGE COLLECTION IS THE WORK OF SATAN PYTHON IS THE
> STANDARD REFERENCE COUNTING MAKES THE BIRDS SING AND THE GRASS GREEN
> GARBAGE COLLECTORS ARE CONTINUALLY TRAWLING THROUGH DEAD DATA LISP IS
> OBSOLETE EVIL NOBODY USES LISP USE PYTHON LIKE ME USE PYTHON REFERENCE
> PYTHON LISP SLOW FAST PYTHON BEST YES PYTHON GARBAGE BAD PYTHON OBSOLETE

Flecks of foam and blood land on the keyboard.  No birds sing; what once
was grass is now dust and ash.

Still he types, faster and faster now, singing and chanting.

From the computer in the shack a cable runs.  The camera follows it, to its
end: copper cores poking through charred insulation.

Fade.

-- 
tfeb.org/computer/

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#197851

On Sat, 8/1/2026 5:08 AM, tfb wrote:
> It is 2042.
> 
> Fade.

The land may be parched, but the surface is populated
by shiny machines filled with the pretense of AI inside.

When I asked an LLM-AI to draw me a picture of something,
it said "here is your Python Card, execute this and your
picture will appear". As usual, some cosmetic changes were
required to the Card, but the code did run and meet the objective.
I do not recollect asking for a Python Card, I asked
for a picture. As an ordinary end-user, I was expected to know
what Python was ("the one true language") :-) The LLM-AI
didn't even say "Do you know what Python is ?" . It just
said "here is your Python Card", like everyone knows what
that is.

You see, the LLM-AI had decided what the chosen language is,
and it happens to be Python :-) Insert cackling laughter.

*******

I just asked it explicitly now, and it really IS hilarious.

   "If you are given a programming task to do, and the
    programming language is not specified, what language
    do you choose for the task and why do you choose
    that particular language ?
   "

CoPilot Answer:

If the task doesn’t specify a programming language, the smartest choice
is the language that gives you the fastest, clearest, least-painful path
to a correct solution. For most general, unspecified tasks, that tends
to be Python - and here’s why.

🧠 Short answer

I choose Python, because it minimizes friction: fast to write, easy to read,
huge standard library, and excellent for everything from quick scripts to
complex algorithms.
...

So there you have it, it wasn't an "accident" after all.
It really does mean it, when it hands out Python Cards
like they were candy.   Yikes!   Looks like the language
wars are over.

My resume in the year 2042:

   Languages:  Python
               (And when I have to, English)

*******

Well, that was only a leg-pull. Here is another paragraph of that slop,
to provide some balance.

🧠 When I wouldn’t choose Python
If the task hints at certain domains, I pivot:

High‑performance numeric computing → C++ or Rust

Systems programming / OS‑level tasks → C or Rust

Web front‑end → JavaScript/TypeScript

Enterprise backend → Java or C#

Embedded / microcontrollers → C

Functional programming or concurrency-heavy tasks → Haskell, Elixir, or Rust

But if the prompt gives no domain clues, Python is the most rational starting point.

*******

You Rust programmers, your job is safe for now.

And Rust never sleeps.

   Paul

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#197854

On Sat, 1 Aug 2026 07:49:41 -0400, Paul wrote:

> Well, that was only a leg-pull. Here is another paragraph of that
> slop, to provide some balance.
>
> Enterprise backend → Java or C#

This
<https://www.infoworld.com/article/4091447/spring-ai-tutorial-get-started-with-spring-ai.html>
is supposed to be an example of how you do AI programming in Java.

Is anybody still mystified why normal people would rather use Python
instead?

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#197855

On 8/1/2026 4:37 PM, Lawrence D’Oliveiro wrote:
> On Sat, 1 Aug 2026 07:49:41 -0400, Paul wrote:
> 
>> Well, that was only a leg-pull. Here is another paragraph of that
>> slop, to provide some balance.
>>
>> Enterprise backend → Java or C#
> 
> This
> <https://www.infoworld.com/article/4091447/spring-ai-tutorial-get-started-with-spring-ai.html>
> is supposed to be an example of how you do AI programming in Java.
> 
> Is anybody still mystified why normal people would rather use Python
> instead?

Yeah. I see normal people that use python all the time in the store... 
Give me a break!

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#197856

Paul <nospam@needed.invalid> wrote:
> [... Python, Rust ...]

Woosh.

-- 
tfeb.org/computer/

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#197863

tfb <tfb@work.it.out> writes:

>
> Flecks of foam and blood land on the keyboard.  No birds sing; what once
> was grass is now dust and ash.
>
> Still he types, faster and faster now, singing and chanting.
>
> From the computer in the shack a cable runs.  The camera follows it, to its
> end: copper cores poking through charred insulation.
>
> Fade.


you are quite the poet.

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