I don't know why, but I've always been bothered by calling s-exprs "ugly";
it's something that has bothered me ever since I've discovered
sweet-expressions. Although I don't yet have much experience in Lispy
programming, I find the syntax of s-exprs rather beautiful; it has a
certain simplicity that makes it particularly charming.
This isn't to say I don't think that s-expressions are perfect, by any
means! Indeed, I always cringe when I see an inequality, like "(< a 1 b 2
c 3)"--if anything makes the case for sweet-expressions, it's that it will
become possible to say "{3 <= a < 10}" in a short-circuitry sort of
way--but somehow, "ugly" isn't the right word to describe them.
Having said that, I can't yet suggest a better word. Maybe "awkward"?
This is just a quibble, and I'm probably not quite right about it, either.
I'm not even sure it's worthwhile worrying about it, although I can
understand why the average Lisper might take offence at calling s-exprs
"ugly"; yet that may be a reason in itself to try to find a better term!
On Thu, Aug 2, 2012 at 8:47 AM, David A. Wheeler <dwhee...@dwheeler.com>wrote:
> The "develop" branch now includes a short presentation on readable
> s-expressions:
>
> http://sourceforge.net/p/readable/code/ci/a0409c2145573b4752635ba984ac27e719772c58/tree/readable-s-expressions.odp
>
> Please comment! I plan to use this, plus a little on-line work to create
> a video.
>
> --- David A. Wheeler
>
>
> ------------------------------------------------------------------------------
> Live Security Virtual Conference
> Exclusive live event will cover all the ways today's security and
> threat landscape has changed and how IT managers can respond. Discussions
> will include endpoint security, mobile security and the latest in malware
> threats. http://www.accelacomm.com/jaw/sfrnl04242012/114/50122263/
> _______________________________________________
> Readable-discuss mailing list
> Readable-discuss@lists.sourceforge.net
> https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/readable-discuss
>
------------------------------------------------------------------------------
Live Security Virtual Conference
Exclusive live event will cover all the ways today's security and
threat landscape has changed and how IT managers can respond. Discussions
will include endpoint security, mobile security and the latest in malware
threats. http://www.accelacomm.com/jaw/sfrnl04242012/114/50122263/
_______________________________________________
Readable-discuss mailing list
Readable-discuss@lists.sourceforge.net
https://lists.sourceforge.net/lists/listinfo/readable-discuss
