Will Lisp ever become super popular?
A:
Not likely. It is really good at well, dealing with lists, but it isn't a complex enough language to become huge.
scunliffe
2008-09-16 01:59:55
Your comment shows complete ignorance of Lisp.
Luís Oliveira
2008-09-18 08:12:52
don't get me wrong, I love using lisp and have done tons with it, but I feel as others do, that it just doesn't quite have enough.
scunliffe
2008-09-20 01:41:08
It think you don't have the faintest idea what you are talking about.
Levente Mészáros
2008-09-25 09:59:58
ok, maybe I am missing something. Can someone point to some large, commercially successful full blown applications built in LISP? can be a desktop app or web app.
scunliffe
2008-09-25 13:15:54
huh.... how about a window manager (sawfish)... airline ticketing systems (ITA)... Web shop builder (Yahoo stores)... hardware platforms (lisp machines)... an operating system (emacs)... there are more, but my patience is finite
dsm
2009-05-29 07:48:08
Ratchet and Clank (popular video game), I believe.
Domingo Galdos
2010-08-08 05:08:43
A:
Is there a need for it to be? As long as a programming language satifies the needs for whatever niche it finds itself inhabiting, that programming language can have a long and fulfilling life.
dlanod
2008-09-16 02:00:01
A:
Probably not. The major APIs are tied to other languages, and most CS grads are working primarily with Java.
That isn't to say that Lisp isn't useful. PLT Scheme lets you write functional programs that run on the current major operating systems. However, the tool set isn't there and there isn't much support from important organizations.
In short, unless Microsoft switches to Lisp from C#, or Apple from Objective-C, then no.
Steve Johnson
2008-09-16 02:01:02
+1
A:
http://www.flownet.com/gat/jpl-lisp.html?dupe=with_honor
Any sufficiently complicated C or Fortran program contains an ad hoc informally-specified bug-ridden slow implementation of half of Common Lisp. — Philip Greenspun's Tenth Rule of Programming
Popularity is in the eye of the beholder.
Pi
2008-09-16 02:02:57
+7
A:
Super popular? Totally!
In all seriousness, while Lisp itself may not be becoming more popular, there has been increasing interest in functional programming. Haskell, OCaml, F#, and other languages are seeing increased usage recently, not to mention the pushes for lambda expressions and closures in Java and C++. So while people may not be programming with parenthesis, the core concepts of Lisp are indeed becoming more popular.
I am a little disappointed that this topic has been closed. Though the question may have been brief and inarticulate, it nevertheless asks and interesting question.
Kyle Cronin
2008-09-16 02:05:46
+2
A:
I personally love lisp, scheme in particular. However, I doubt it will ever go much beyond what it is today unless someone creates a lisp dialect with a CPAN style library system. Lack of robust libraries is a major disadvantage for lisp. It's possible that Paul Graham's Arc will revive interest in it, but I'm not very hopeful.
That said lisp will be around for along time. It is already 50 years old and has out lasted languages that came after it. It's specific domain, in my humble opinion, is academia. It is well suited to learning very quickly. The SICP Videos cover the language itself in about two lectures, and quickly move on to the stuff that really matters. As much as I hate to agree with ESR, even if you never use it for your job, learning lisp will make you a better programmer.
docgnome
2008-09-16 02:09:08
+1
A:
Will opera singers ever become super popular?
I mean, they are different from other singers. They have the theoretical musical background, and their music certainly was very popular several centuries ago, which was the base for many other styles of singers.
Nowadays, the pop singers are popular because they have commercial support from the big labels. It may be also a cultural thing: pop music is a no-brainer, while opera singers, and the orchestral music that often accompanies it, require some musical education to contemplate its beauty. Opera music is not likely to disappear, but rather will continue influencing other styles of music.
Now, will Lisp will ever become super popular?
Chubas
2010-08-08 05:13:58
A:
I think LISP itself in Scheme/Common Lisp/etc. not so much. However many features from LISP are finding their way into everyday languages. Closures, Lamda expressions, map/reduce, etc...
Also let's not forget JavaScript which is actually pretty LISPy. Mostly you think the language sucks because of the DOM, however recently I was forced to use it to code something not web related (using windows JScript). Actually the functions as first class objects and closures can lead to some very beautiful stuff.
Also XML is surprisingly LISP like in its structure. XML tags are an awful lot like more verbose parenthesis in LISP.
I think LISP itself probably is relegated to academic circles and artificial intelligence. But many ideas and concepts from LISP will find their way into our everyday programming languages.
Still I wouldn't mind being proven wrong. LISP is surprisingly efficient. Its performance profile seems better than most of the scripting languages on the programming language shootout at http://shootout.alioth.debian.org/.
Cervo
2010-08-08 05:15:51