Ask HN: Production Lisp in 2020?
I think Reddit's decision to move from Common Lisp to Python is interesting and their reasoning (ecosystem) is still valid 15 years later.<p>The historical timeline is especially interesting because Reddit's cofounders Steve Huffman & Aaron Swartz were alumni of Paul Graham's first YC batch and PG is the author of the well-known Lisp essay "Beating the Averages":<p>- 2001-04 Paul Graham : Lisp essay <i>"Beating the Averages"</i> [1]<p>- 2005-07-26  Paul Graham :  <a href="https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/comp.lang.lisp/vJmLVd9lJyk" rel="nofollow">https://groups.google.com/forum/#!topic/comp.lang.lisp/vJmLV...</a><p>- 2005-12-05  Steve Huffman :  <a href="https://redditblog.com/2005/12/05/on-lisp/" rel="nofollow">https://redditblog.com/2005/12/05/on-lisp/</a><p>- 2005-12-06  Aaron Schwartz :  <a href="http://www.aaronsw.com/weblog/rewritingreddit" rel="nofollow">http://www.aaronsw.com/weblog/rewritingreddit</a><p>The takeaway from the Reddit case study is this:  Yes Lisp macros and language malleability gives it superpowers that other languages don't have (the "Blub Paradox") -- but other languages also have <i>other superpowers</i> (ecosystem/libraries) that can cancel out the power of Lisp macros.<p>You have to analyze your personal project to predict if the ecosystem matters more than Lisp's elegant syntax powers.<p>[1] <a href="http://www.paulgraham.com/avg.html" rel="nofollow">http://www.paulgraham.com/avg.html</a>