To be fair, most languages in use today are just FORTRAN with diffrent syntax.
Both Lisp and array language programmers are sadly somewhat rare.
Both Lisp and array language programmers are sadly somewhat rare.
Lisp optimizes for syntax simplicity, the "all possible computation is expressible with these three symbols" sort of thing. see also: forth
APL takes the more traditional math syntax approach and optimizes for space. "how to most concisely express an operation"
As a tangent. I have to admit, as a casual enjoyer of math, I sometimes wish that institutionally they had gone the lisp route instead of the APL route. a simple universal syntax instead of the super dense domain specific ones they use. I understand why they do it. easier to manipulate. But I hate getting stuck at the beginning, functionally illiterate, just trying to figure out their syntax.
> What Made Lisp Different:
> 1. Conditionals (if-then-else construct)
> 2. A function type (functions as first class objects)
> 3. Recursion
> 4. A new concept of variables (dynamic typing and pass-by-pointer)
> 5. Garbage-collection
Looks like most modern languages have more in common with Lisp than FORTRAN, besides the syntax.