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Comment by GuiA | Hacker News Reader

What's magical about it?

Well judging from the description, "native" actually means writing it in RPython (a "restricted" Python with types for use in the PyPy Project for static analysis and speeding things up[0]) and then compiling it down using PyPy (I am guessing on the second part). That could be neat, the HyLang people (Lisp written in vanilla CPython Python; I think no C extensions AFAIK).

[0] http://pypy.readthedocs.org/en/latest/coding-guide.html#id1

Hy isn't a full Lisp interpreter in Python, it's an s-expression to Python AST parser, which means it does everything Python does (including C extensions) at essentially native speed anyway - you can even write RPython in it.

If you ask me, full Python interop makes Hy the most practical s-expression language today.

One problem with Hy for me is that it keeps Python scoping, either global or function; that doesn't feel natural to me in a Lisp, and it gets in my way. If it weren't for that and a few similar matters, I'd agree with you on Hy's practicality; as it is, I'd give my nod to Clojure.

I'm wondering the same thing. I dug through the entire repository, and I didn't see any references to "magical" properties.

Did you look through the rpython codebase too? Thats where the real magic is.

Added a few comments in the README about that.

Pixie implements its own virtual machine.

Isn't that how all the tiny lisps do it? :)

You know, maybe 'magic' simply sets the bar higher than the project is prepared to support. Consider 'clever'.

Umm, I don't think you understand fully what it is. it is using rpython which is a meta tracing jit. pretty magic if you read about it.

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