Lisp as an alternative to Java (2000)
I think the lesson to learn from Java was that we, developers, were evaluating languages on the wrong parameters.<p>Java is too verbose! (But that can reduce the need for so many comments, and comments can often mislead as software changes. Also, Java 8 was 2014 and it changed the game massively.)<p>Java runs slowly because of the JVM! (But the JVM evolves and improves, giving free upgrades to all Java programs over time. Also, I have a multi-GHZ processor now.)<p>Java takes longer to write! (But the first time you write a program is never the hard part- it&#x27;s continuous evolution of software that matters.)<p>Norvig&#x27;s code is beautiful and very good Lisp. But it&#x27;s so dense that it requires more lines of explanatory comments than actual functionality. The code&#x27;s functionality isn&#x27;t self-evident. And sure, you can write Java code that has the same flaws, but I find it&#x27;s easier to write readable Java code than it is to write readable Lisp.<p>I think Python&#x27;s success is further evidence of this perspective.