Chapter 4: (or (true? (to Lisp)) (false? (to Lisp)))

To Lisp or not to Lisp, that is the question.



Since I first saw Lisp (and I try to avoid that topic (because I still knew nothing about programing)) I got scared of programming at all. I asked myself if all programming languages were the same, at least syntax wise. This has happened every time I saw Lisplike syntax, every day until my first class of this course. I had no choice, I had to embrace Clojure, I have to code in Clojure, I have to be Clojure … and I have loved every moment since I took that decision (Well I technically didn’t take the decision, they took the decision for me).

The first we encountered was that we weren’t going to code the way we have coded in the last semesters, but we will be introduced to a new paradigm, the functional programming. The code we saw was confusing at first, but after analyzing what the code did, we understood how Clojure worked. With that in mind, I consider I started coding easier with Clojure.

I noticed the difference in the way I coded right away, I even looked at how conventional code in other languages looked more concise, small, and sometimes, clearer. Concurrency is easier, performance, lazy evaluation, many features make functional programing better (in some cases).

Dick Gabriel made some interesting observation in the podcast “Dick Gabriel on Lisp”, such as how Lisp was a tool for making AI better, and how Lisp worked as a whole. Even the song at the end was catchy (I swear I didn’t look it up on Spotify). After the podcast ended, it made me reflect, on how I was really close minded to which programming languages should I approach. But with this course and the podcast, I think getting into Clojure was one of the best ways for me to get out of my comfort zone.  

 Referencias:
Markus (2007). Episode 84: Dick Gabriel on Lisp, Available on http://www.se-radio.net/2008/01/eposide-84-dick-gabriel-on-lisp/

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