Yesterday someone read to me a quote by Larry Wall in an O'Rielly book
on writing web services in Perl:
"Lisp has all the visual appeal of oatmeal with fingernail clippings
mixed in." --- Larry Wall
I just had to track this down. Google is an amazing thing. Here is
the message id: <······················@netlabs.com>
And here is the thread that spawned the quote:
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&threadm=1994Jul21.173737.16853%40netlabs.com&rnum=1&prev=/groups%3Fsafe%3Dimages%26ie%3DUTF-8%26oe%3DUTF-8%26as_uauthors%3DLarry%2520Wall%2520%26as_umsgid%3D%253C1994Jul21.173737.16853%40netlabs.com%253E%26lr%3D%26hl%3Den
I'm not sure, but I think the jist of it is that Larry likes programs
to look like ascii art.
--
It would not be too unfair to any language to refer to Java as a
stripped down Lisp or Smalltalk with a C syntax.
--- Ken Anderson
http://openmap.bbn.com/~kanderso/performance/java/index.html
David Steuber <·····@david-steuber.com> writes:
> I'm not sure, but I think the jist of it is that Larry likes programs
> to look like ascii art.
I think properly indented lisp looks like beautiful ascii art, in the
most flattering sense of the word.
Perl looks like the heart of unix, which can sometimes be beautiful
but sometimes gross.
--
One love,
Sunnan
On 11 Apr 2004 14:03:23 -0400, David Steuber <·····@david-steuber.com> wrote:
> Yesterday someone read to me a quote by Larry Wall in an O'Rielly
> book on writing web services in Perl:
>
> "Lisp has all the visual appeal of oatmeal with fingernail clippings
> mixed in." --- Larry Wall
Want another one by him?
"Lispers are among the best grads of the
Sweep-It-Under-Someone-Else's-Carpet School of Simulated
Simplicity."
<http://www.google.com/groups?selm=1992Jan10.201804.11926%40netlabs.com>
Edi.
Edi Weitz <···@agharta.de> writes:
> On 11 Apr 2004 14:03:23 -0400, David Steuber <·····@david-steuber.com> wrote:
>
>> Yesterday someone read to me a quote by Larry Wall in an O'Rielly
>> book on writing web services in Perl:
>>
>> "Lisp has all the visual appeal of oatmeal with fingernail clippings
>> mixed in." --- Larry Wall
>
> Want another one by him?
>
> "Lispers are among the best grads of the
> Sweep-It-Under-Someone-Else's-Carpet School of Simulated
> Simplicity."
Why would anyone take anything that Larry Wall says seriously?
--
~jrm
Joe Marshall <·············@comcast.net> writes:
> Edi Weitz <···@agharta.de> writes:
>
> > On 11 Apr 2004 14:03:23 -0400, David Steuber <·····@david-steuber.com> wrote:
> >
> >> Yesterday someone read to me a quote by Larry Wall in an O'Rielly
> >> book on writing web services in Perl:
> >>
> >> "Lisp has all the visual appeal of oatmeal with fingernail clippings
> >> mixed in." --- Larry Wall
> >
> > Want another one by him?
> >
> > "Lispers are among the best grads of the
> > Sweep-It-Under-Someone-Else's-Carpet School of Simulated
> > Simplicity."
>
> Why would anyone take anything that Larry Wall says seriously?
Because he's able to say things like the above without a trace of
irony. How does he do it?!?! Maybe it's a generational thing -- I am
a part of a generation notorious for being unable to say anything
without irony. That makes his statements pretty impressive from a
hip-hop-gen/gen-x point of view.
--
/|_ .-----------------------.
,' .\ / | No to Imperialist war |
,--' _,' | Wage class war! |
/ / `-----------------------'
( -. |
| ) |
(`-. '--.)
`. )----'
Joe Marshall <·············@comcast.net> writes:
> Why would anyone take anything that Larry Wall says seriously?
Because he is a trekkie?
--
It would not be too unfair to any language to refer to Java as a
stripped down Lisp or Smalltalk with a C syntax.
--- Ken Anderson
http://openmap.bbn.com/~kanderso/performance/java/index.html
Joe Marshall <·············@comcast.net> writes:
> Why would anyone take anything that Larry Wall says seriously?
I have no idea, but the fact of the matter is that many people do. It
probably has something to do with his having invented Perl, which, like it
or not, is hugely popular.
Did you mean to ask: why SHould anyone take anything that Larry Wall says
seriously? That is a different matter entirely.
E.
·········@flownet.com (Erann Gat) writes:
> Joe Marshall <·············@comcast.net> writes:
>
>> Why would anyone take anything that Larry Wall says seriously?
>
> I have no idea, but the fact of the matter is that many people do. It
> probably has something to do with his having invented Perl, which, like it
> or not, is hugely popular.
>
> Did you mean to ask: why SHould anyone take anything that Larry Wall says
> seriously? That is a different matter entirely.
I think I meant `would' because I want to use the subjunctive form to
imply that it is not the case that anyone takes Larry Wall seriously
(which may be true or not, but I can't resist the temptation to
combine a linguistic sleight with linguistic sleight-of-hand).
David Steuber <·····@david-steuber.com> wrote:
> Joe Marshall <·············@comcast.net> writes:
>
>> Why would anyone take anything that Larry Wall says seriously?
>
> Because he is a trekkie?
Larry Wall likes "Revolutionary Girl Utena" too, but that's a lot
prettier than Perl code.
--
Karl A. Krueger <········@example.edu>
Woods Hole Oceanographic Institution
Email address is spamtrapped. s/example/whoi/
"Outlook not so good." -- Magic 8-Ball Software Reviews
Joe Marshall <·············@comcast.net> wrote in message news:<············@comcast.net>...
> Edi Weitz <···@agharta.de> writes:>
> > On 11 Apr 2004 14:03:23 -0400, David Steuber <·····@david-steuber.com> wrote:
> >> "Lisp has all the visual appeal of oatmeal with fingernail clippings
> >> mixed in." --- Larry Wall
> >
> > "Lispers are among the best grads of the
> > Sweep-It-Under-Someone-Else's-Carpet School of Simulated
> > Simplicity."
>
> Why would anyone take anything that Larry Wall says seriously?
We should assume it's a compliment when he says another language is
ugly and not simple.
His words are probably fairly apt; I think lisp is very good at
creating illusions, which means it can make complex things simple in
the eyes of the programmer. And instead of an amoeba or crescent
soup, he can uncharitably call it oatmeal with fingernail clippings.
A linguist like him should know that our natural languages must mask
the most irrational of complexities...
Another person known for searching out the ugly interpretations in
things is Erik Naggum, who people are showing an interest in. What
does he say about Larry Wall's language?
"I'm not a language bigot, but I sometimes play one on the Net..."
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&safe=off&selm=3163193555464012%40naggum.no&prev=/groups%3Fhl%3Den%26lr%3D%26ie%3DUTF-8%26oe%3DUTF-8%26safe%3Doff%26q%3Dauthor%253Aerik%2Bauthor%253Anaggum%2Bperl%26btnG%3DSearch%26meta%3Dgroup%253Dcomp.lang.lisp.*
http://groups.google.com/groups?hl=en&lr=&ie=UTF-8&oe=UTF-8&safe=off&selm=3142145710427254%40naggum.no