Syntax can be simple or complex, and - independently - easy or hard.
IMO Lisp's is hard, but simple; Python's is hard and complex.
Tooling can make it easier (keeping track of parentheses and significant whitespace, respectively), but not simpler.
IMO Lisp's is hard, but simple; Python's is hard and complex.
Tooling can make it easier (keeping track of parentheses and significant whitespace, respectively), but not simpler.
The TXR language was developed using nothing but Vim, for all the C and Lisp code.
The tooling is the same as for C: indentation, coloring, parenthesis matching, and that's more than you need.
E.g. visually select some code with V and cursor movement, then hit =, and it's nicely reindented.
Vim's Lisp indentation is based on the classic Vi ':set lisp' mode which was in Unix since 1980 something. That is combined with some generic autoindent settings, most of which are pretty much the same as for C.
GNU mkid (from the id-utils project) indexes Lisp like other languages for quickly finding all references to an identifier.
Exuberant Ctags recognizes Lisp files, for jump-to-definition.
People who talk about special tooling for Lisp must be coming from the perspective of Nano or Notepad.
Or else from the perspective of "any programming editor which is not the one I know is 'special tooling', and the one I know doesn't recognize any Lisp file suffixes."